Roots Wine Co.

Chris Berg was born in Racine, Wisconsin, which turns out to matter. Racine is French for root, and that’s where the winery’s name comes from — along with family ties, community, and what grows from both.

He was raised across Idaho, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, graduated from the University of Kansas with an English degree, and had no idea what came next. His parents Chuck and Dian bought a manufacturing company in Tualatin and moved west from Illinois. Chris followed to help run it, and helped with the other reason for the move: planting a small vineyard.

In 1999 the family planted seven acres on a 20-acre property near Yamhill, mostly Pinot Noir with a few rows of Pinot Gris, on WillaKenzie soil at around 600 feet on a southwest slope — the same hillside as Shea Vineyard. The fabrication business closed in 2000, and the Bergs found themselves full-time winery folk. Chuck and Dian retired to Arizona in 2001, and Chris and Hilary moved out from Portland to the vineyard.

The first harvest in 2002 brought three tons, which became 72 cases of Pinot Noir. Chris took winemaking classes, worked a range of vineyard jobs including a stint at Archery Summit, and built from there. Roots now produces around 5,000 cases.

The range is wide for a winery this size: estate Pinot Noir and several single-vineyard bottlings from neighboring Yamhill-Carlton sites, plus estate Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Melon de Bourgogne, Viognier, Riesling and dessert Riesling, Syrah, Grenache, Sauvignon Blanc, and méthode champenoise sparkling. The Klee label takes its name from a 1924 Paul Klee painting.

It stays a family operation — Chris makes the wine, Hilary co-owns and handles marketing, Dian runs the tasting room, and their son Theo keeps everyone honest.

The tasting room opened in March 2015 at the top of the hill, with sliding glass doors onto a deck looking from the Coast Range to the Cascades. There’s a classic Pac-Man machine inside, which has produced an annual Pac-Man & Pinot tournament. Dogs run the property. Tastings are $15, and guests describe Chris as generous with both his time and whatever’s in the barrel.