1895 – The beginnings

English engineer Edmund James Palmer Norton arrived in Argentina to help build the railway across the Andes and fell in love with Mendoza. After taking a drastic turn, he bought his own vineyard in Perdriel, Luján de Cuyo, with vines imported from France, and founded his own winery. It was the first vineyard planted south of the Mendoza River.

Passion in motion

1910 – The connections made during the railway construction, the first crossing to Chile during Argentina’s centenary in 1910, allowed us to offer our wines in the dining cars during the train journey crossing the Andes and in Buenos Aires, the biggest market at that time. This way, we created and distributed the first wine bottled at origin and that same year, we won our first award in a competition for the quality of our wines.

Norton marks the first milestone in the industry

1973 – WE EXPORTED THE FIRST MALBEC TO THE USA.
A few decades later, we made a Malbec that would be legendary: the first to be sold outside Argentina, exported to the United States in 1973.

A new chapter

1989 – Austrian businessman Gernot Langes-Swarovski, the owner of the world’s leading cut crystal brand, was amazed by the beauty of Mendoza and foresaw the enormous potential for Argentine wines. He decided to acquire Norton, dazzled by the outstanding quality of the wines and with the sole purpose of expanding Argentine wines to the world.

One of his primary goals was preserving the wines in the winery’s cellar. Thanks to his decision, we own the most important historic cellar in South America, with wines dating from 1936.

Venturing beyond

1991 – Michael, known to everyone as Miguel, was 27 years old when we arrived in Mendoza. A member of the Swarovski family and born in Germany, Michael ushered in a new era of investments and expansion, turning Norton into one of the first wineries to penetrate foreign markets.

Putting Malbec on the map

1994 – Norton became synonymous with Argentine Malbec: we are one of the first four wineries to certify the Controlled Designation of Origin (DOC in Spanish).

1997 – Michael bought Finca La Colonia (1,047 ha), taking his entrepreneurial spirit to the highest level: becoming the largest landholder in the Luján de Cuyo region.

Expanding horizons, achieving milestones

From the moment he took over the leadership of Norton, Michael had the wisdom to choose the talents he wanted to work with, so he called upon two of the best winemakers in the country and the world to create the best wines possible: Jorge Riccitelli and David Bonomi.

2000 – 2004 – Michael Halstrick was awarded “Wine Industry Businessman of the Year”, and Norton was included in the Top 100 most admired Argentine companies by two of the most important newspapers in Argentina (La Nación and Clarín).

2012 – Jorge Riccitelli was named Winemaker of the Year by Wine Enthusiast, becoming the first Argentine winemaker to win this title.

The expansion continues

2014 – Determined to expand our horizons, we started to work exclusively with producers from the Uco Valley, leading to the creation of Lote Negro, the first wine made exclusively from Cabernet Franc and Malbec grapes sourced from this region and awarded with outstanding ratings over 95 points.

2018 – We launched our Imported Beverages division in Argentina, commercialising great brands such as Crystal by Louis Roederer, Hendrick’s, Glenfiddich and Monkey Shoulder, among others.

Innovating forward

2019 – We became the first winery in South America to release a white wine made 100% with Grüner Veltliner, a grape of Austrian origin. We also became the first ones to harvest this varietal in Argentina.

Winemaker of the year

2021- David Bonomi was also named Winemaker of the Year by renowned wine critic Tim Atkin. That same year we underwent renovations inside the winery, incorporating a room especially for concrete eggs and tanks. These additions allowed us to express the terroir faithfully and produce lighter and fresher wines, in line with the global tendency.

Shaping the future

2023 – We take our brand in a new direction launching a new visual identity with a new logo to celebrate our history as pioneers of Argentine wine and a more modern vision towards the future, creating wines for the new generations and innovating in each of our processes.

To be continued…