Touring the Wineries of Mendoza – Bodega Norton

I’ll start with probably the most mainstream winery I’ll cover here: Bodega Norton. Although Norton makes lots of good wine, we know it best as the source of our favourite Argentinean “cheap and cheerful:” their Norton Classico retails domestically for about 3 bucks, and is embarrassingly drinkable. (as long as you don’t expect too much.)

Norton is a good place to start because 1) it’s easy to find 2) it’s pretty large, and so offers fairly typical, frequent tours 3) its wines are a good place to start before branching off into more challenging wine. [To Norton fans: yes, they do make other decent wine; I am only speaking to my own personal experience!]

You won’t see the Norton Classico on any fine wine menus, but if you’re looking for late-night party wine at the grocery, it’s a good choice. Plus, you can say you had a decent bottle of wine for 3 bucks!

[Important note: it is technically possible to buy 1 or 2-dollar bottles of wine in Argentina. Although I, too, was excited to be able to say I’d been able to buy it, I couldn’t equally say I could drink it. My advice? Don’t stray below the Classico; you’ll regret it.]