Syrah is one of my favorite wines to drink, period.

Whether Syrah comes from France, Oregon, California, Australia, or any other locale, I love them all when they express an old world sensitivity, a balance between brilliant natural acidities, restrained amounts of new oak, and an absence of excessive alcohol. I probably drink more Syrah than any other varietal, and that is saying a lot given my obsessions with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Why do I love Syrah so much? Syrah can be zesty, bright, and peppery as well as robust, meaty, and gamey. I am crazy about fruitful, wild, meaty, earthy, roasted, herbal, spicy, and umami-tinged wines. Syrah checks all of those boxes. Syrah can be full-bodied like a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Merlot, but can also be lighter-bodied like a Pinot Noir or even a dark Rosé, and everything in between. However, what Syrah is best at capturing is what the French would call “garrigue:” the smell of the wild Thyme, Rosemary, Lavender, and Olive underbrush that grows in the Northern Rhône region and blows like a country perfume on the mistral winds.

My passion for this grape, which has been so bewilderingly in need of champions and consumers, is why I started our gargantua label in 2013. gargantua is a West Coast examination of this wonderful and ancient varietal that is so beloved by fanatics like me all around the world. I knew, having tasted some real world-class examples from friends in California and Washington, that we could craft something really special with Syrah here in Oregon, and continue to prove to the world that American West-Coast Syrah is unique, delicious, and belongs in the same conversation as the wines from such hallowed appellations as Hermitage, St. Joseph, Côte Rotie, and Cornas in France’s Northern Rhône Valley.

If you do not yet know this amazing wine varietal, allow me introduce it to you with gargantua! Under the gargantua label, we make four unique Syrahs: a floral, peppery, and spicy Syrah derived from fruit from the “Les Collines” Vineyard in Walla Walla, Washington, a beastly and sauvage expression with notes of olive tapenade, grilled meats, and stony minerality from the “Bien Nacido” Vineyard in Santa Maria, California, and a lovely-fruited, herbed, peppery, and elegantly meaty Syrah blended from four different vineyards in the Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue Valleys in our home state of Oregon. Finally, we also craft an extremely delicious and quaffable Syrah blend called pantagruel, a multi-state, West-Coast blend that is peppery, olive-y, meaty, purple-y-floral, and ripe-fruited (read more about pantagruel and gargantua here).

If the chance to purchase small batch, hand-crafted wines from a small, artisan family producer who you trust to make delicious wines that over deliver on value isn’t enough….let me add in this very important part of our Syrah story.

The labels for gargantua and pantagruel were painted for us by my very good friend Nat Meade. We grew up together in Northwest Portland, attending the same grade, middle, and high schools. He is a renowned visual artist who now lives in Brooklyn, NY and I have long been an admirer of his work (visit his website here.).

Nat’s oldest son was born with Angelman Syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects the nervous system of children. Currently, there is no cure for AS. Nat’s family has joined a coalition and created a foundation called “Quincy’s Quest” that is dedicated to finding a cure for this disease. Bergström Wines has dedicated an annual donation, derived from all Syrah sales. With every bottle of gargantua or pantagruel Syrah that you purchase, you are making a contribution to this important research, and giving hope to so many families across America who are affected by this syndrome.

With the changing of the seasons, and the accompanying changes to what is in the pantry, in the refrigerator, and featured at the dinner table, cheers to Syrah season! May it be a celebration of colder days, but also with lighter hearts and never-ending deliciousness.

Cheers!
Josh Bergström