From Pruning in January to Harvest in October, our estate vineyards are farmed by hand with strict attention to detail. Excessive buds and shoots are removed in the early spring to focus the energy and growth of the vine into a limited amount of foliage. These remaining canes are all trained upright and orderly to create a clean and healthy canopy of vine which will efficiently capture every ray of the summer sun and allow for wind-flow through its leaves which will ward off disease. Grape clusters are removed and trimmed several times in the growing season to ensure that the crop is not too large. Too much crop will make for less concentrated fruit. Think of the upright grape-vine canopy as a solar panel and the clusters as our batteries... the least amount of batteries we have means the more energy we can store into fewer cells, thus: more concentration.
We end up cutting off 2/3 of our potential harvest to fall to the ground to compost every year in order to ensure a small, healthy concentrated crop will be harvested. Bergström wines aims for 1.1 to 1.7 tons per acre in our high-density vineyard blocks and 0.75-1.1 tons per acre in our older vine (lower density) blocks.
Bergström Winery harvests by hand into small quarter ton perforated bins. We harvest in the morning while the temperatures are still cool and the fruit is transported quickly to the winery where it is immediately de-stemmed into a fermentation tank.
The Bergström Winery Estate Vineyards are comprised of three different plantings in two very distinct American Viticultural Appellations in Oregon’s Northern Willamette Valley totaling 37 acres of Pinot Noir and 5 acres of Chardonnay.
The Bergström Vineyard is a 15 acre vineyard planted exclusively to Pinot Noir, located in the Dundee Hills. Planted in 1999, this vineyard is owned by John and Karen Bergström.
The ancient red volcanic soils of this vineyard site provide powerful wines of great finesse, laden with red fruit and floral aromas, earthy minerality and silky tannic structure. The Bergström Vineyard Pinot Noir drinks well young and will also benefit from extended cellar aging. The de Lancellotti Vineyard is a 22 acre vineyard planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, located on Calkins Lane in the Chehalem Mountains Appellation. These sandy sedimentary soils atop sandstone bedrock create dark fruited, spicy structured wines with great perfume and will benefit from extended cellar aging.
The Bergström Winery Block is a 5 acre vineyard planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and is also located on Calkins Lane in the Chehalem Mountains. This vineyard is typically fermented using whole clusters which creates wines of intense power showcasing savory herbs, game and dark fruits with a plethora of sweet and savory spices. This wine should typically be cellared for 3-5 years before opening.
