A brief history
Astonished by the characteristics of the local land and motivated by this visionary spirit, in 1985, the English engineer Mr. Edmund James Palmer Norton planted the first vines imported from France, giving origin to the first winery at the south of Mendoza's River, in Luján de Cuyo (Mendoza, Argentina).
In 1989, the Austrian Businessman, Mr. Gernot Langes Swarovski traveled to Mendoza and experienced the same fascination for the region’s beauty, its people’s warmth and the exceptional conditions for vine growing. Led by his intuition and his belief in the high potential that viticulture and winemaking meant in Argentina, he bought Norton winery with the firm purpose on making wines that would be worldwide recognized for their quality.
While carrying out this project, he appointed his son Michael Halstrick as manager. Together with a team of professionals, Michael started a new phase of investment, modernization and growth. In this way, the incorporation of state-of-the-art technology combined with people’s knowledge and passion, have made, Norton a leading brand in both export and domestic markets.
David Bonomi, recognised as “Winemaker of the Year” by the well-known Master of Wine Tim Atkin (2020), is the person in charge of elaborating Bodega Norton’s wines and head of the winemaking and agricultural teams.
Due to David’s vast career and experience, his wines have been awarded with over 95 points by the most prestigious winemakers across the world. He is part of a new generation of winemakers that are compromised with the evolution of viticulture. Bonomi has made the first move to experiment with vines of Grüner Veltliner, an Austrian grape variety, in Argentina. He is the first winemaker in South America to launch a Grüner Veltliner still wine and a sparkling wine. David has also been recognised among the Top 10 South American Winemakers, awards that have been topped off with his recent recognition as “Winemaker of the Year” by Tim Atkin in his “2020 Argentina Special Report”.