Bergström Wines

Oregon: Willamette Valley, United States

Biographies

  • Josh Bergström, Winemaker, General Manager

    download bio

    A Portland native, Josh Bergström is a veteran Oregonian winemaker with more than 25 vintages of experience making wine in the Willamette Valley. During his career, he has built a world-renowned family wine brand from the ground up and consulted for 8 different Oregonian wine labels, making wine off more than 125 different vineyards within the region. He is both passionate about and deeply involved in all aspects of the Willamette Valley’s viticultural and winemaking communities.

    Josh’s university studies included French, business, business law and the humanities before he received a postgraduate degree in Viticulture and Enology at the famed Lycée Viticole in Beaune, France. It was there that Josh met his wife Caroline, a Burgundy native. They fell in love immediately and together roamed the Burgundian hillside villages, depleting communal stores of wine, bread, jambon persillé, and almost making escargots an endangered species. They returned to Oregon in the summer of 1999 to craft their family’s first vintage of wine together and have been at the helm of Bergström Wines ever since.

    From its inception, Josh’s vision for Bergström Wines was always to make America’s finest Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays while building his family Domaine towards a 100% estate-farmed approach. He and his dedicated farming team are the caretakers of 70 acres of Biodynamic, estate monopole Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from 5 different vineyards in the nested Dundee Hills, Ribbon Ridge and Chehalem Mountains AVA’s of the Northern Willamette Valley. He is a champion of Biodynamic, organic and regenerative agricultural practices, and believes these practices are critical to preserving the unique regional character of his terroirs and wines.

    For Bergström Wines’ sister label, gargantua, Josh grows Syrah on his Ribbon Ridge estate and sources fruit from 6 sustainable, organic and family owned and operated vineyards in the Rogue, Umpqua and Columbia River Gorge AVA’s.

    Josh is the proud father of two young men; Batiste and Etienne, and a dachshund named Toulouse. In his spare time, Josh loves to bake sourdough breads (with starters grown from Chardonnay lees), catch Dungeness crab on the Oregon coast and forage local mushrooms in Oregon’s coast range

  • Caroline Bergström, Proprietor & President of Sales

    download bio

    Caroline was born and raised in the world-famous wine town of Beaune in the Burgundy region of France. Although not from a winemaking family, Caroline was interested in vineyards and the regional wine culture. She worked summers and harvests for local wineries before deciding to pursue a career in wine.

    Caroline received her wine education at the renowned Lycée Viticole where she studied viticulture, enology and wine and spirits marketing. During the 1998 academic year, she met her husband, Josh Bergström. Together, they moved back to his native home in Oregon, made the first vintage of Bergström Wines, and began to build a vision for the future of the winery.

    From its inception, Caroline has led the sales team at Bergström Wines, represented the family’s wines in local, national and international markets, and alongside Josh, has co-managed the day-to-day of the family business. She has helped plant, farm and harvest the vines at the winery’s five estate vineyards, as well as worked every vintage alongside the harvest team.

    Caroline is committed to the health and biodiversity of the vineyard sites, as well as the local ecosystem. In support of these efforts, she is an avid beekeeper, a tea lover growing herbs and blending teas for both biodynamic vineyard preparations and personal enjoyment, and a canner of the other fruits, both wild and cultivated, that grow on the vineyard properties.

    Caroline is the proud mother of two young men (Batiste and Étienne) and a dachshund named Toulouse