Sir Edmund James Palmer Norton (1865–1944) was an engineer of English descent who was born on the frontier between the
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...
and
Denmark
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, though raised in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. He is credited as a pioneer of
Argentine viticulture.
Transandine Railway
After graduating with a degree in engineering his expertise in building railway bridges was requested to help build the
Transandine Railway
The Transandine Railway ( es, Ferrocarril Trasandino) was a combined rack ( Abt system) and adhesion railway which operated from Mendoza in Argentina, across the Andes mountain range via the Uspallata Pass, to Santa Rosa de Los Andes in Chi ...
which connected the Argentine railroad from
Mendoza to
Santiago, Chile
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated Regions of Chile, region, t ...
. This line, climbing through the Andes through a 12,000-foot pass, was built in one of the most difficult railroad terrains in the world. Though the railway has not been functional since 1984, in 2006, both the Argentine and Chilean governments agreed to refurbish the railway and make it functional by the year 2010, at an estimated total cost of US$460 million.
Argentine viticulture
Once his work on the railway was completed, he moved to
Bahía Blanca
Bahía Blanca (; English: White Bay) is a city in the southwest of the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the seat of government of the Bahía Blanca Partido. It had 3 ...
before returning to
Mendoza in 1889 to settle permanently. Though his formal training was in designing railway bridges, he soon sought other opportunities. In 1895 he founded the very first winery in the area, Bodega Norton, located to the south of the Mendoza River in the district of Perdriel, in the department of
Luján de Cuyo. Norton recognized the Mendoza region's potential for wine cultivation and production, and planted grapes with vines imported from France. He devoted the rest of his life to winemaking. He married Juana Suarez and had several children, some of whom continued the family business.
Bodega Norton
In 1989,
Bodega Norton was acquired by Austrian entrepreneur Gernot Langes–Swarovski, owner of
Swarovski
Swarovski (, ) is an Austrian producer of glass based in Wattens, Austria, and has existed as a family-owned business since its founding in 1895 by Daniel Swarovski.
The company is split into three major industry areas: the Swarovski Crystal ...
Crystal Company. Bodega Norton now exports over 1.5 million cases annually.
[Molesworth, James (2007, November 29). A Sit Down With Bodega Norton. ''Wine Spectator'' Retrieved October 23, 2008 from http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Blogs/Blog_Detail/0,4211,1541,00.html ]
See also
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Edmund James Palmer
1865 births
1944 deaths
Argentine businesspeople
British railway civil engineers
Argentine winemakers
British emigrants to Argentina