Pride of the Northwest

Dungeness crabs are a great point of local pride on the West Coast.

- OWEN DUGAN

As Josh Bergström, owner of Bergström Wines in Dundee, Ore., says, "When Oregonians think about our wines, we think about our foods like the hazelnut, chanterelles and Dungeness crab.

It's one of the pillars of our local foods that we really cherish. It's unique and so special." While crabs are available most of the year, the biggest ones are caught during the winter and spring. Bergström likes to get to the ocean before sunrise and drop a few big, heavy traps off a pier, then relax with tea or Champagne and a book for a few hours. "My winemaker and her husband, who's also a winemaker, go crabbing in the morning, and then on their way back go chanterelle hunting in the forest," Bergström says.