Sharing some good wine and some good laughs with David Bonomi and Michael WJ Halstrick at Toronto’s Ritz Carlton hotel.
Back in November of 2013 I had the pleasure of spending a morning tasting wine and discussing the pros and cons of the Malbec grape varietal with Bodega Norton‘s Chief Winemaker Jorge Riccitelli, a gentleman that Decanter magazine just listed in their Top 30 Winemakers of the world. A distillation of our time together is captured in an interview you can view here.
Just last week I found myself in the same hotel room discussing similar topics with Bodega Norton’s newest addition, Senior Winemaker David Bonomi, alongside the historied house’s President and CEO Michael W.J. Halstrick.
Bonomi was returning to Norton after a brief sojourn elsewhere in Argentina, and seemed genuinely happy to be back working alongside the sage knowledge of Riccitelli, a man who he views as his inspirational mentor.
Halstrick and Bonomi were in town to introduce their recent LCBO General Listings for their Barrel Select Sauvignon Blanc and Malbec, wines that will be their new entry level bottlings in the Canadian market. Both priced at an extremely accessible $12.95, they represent considerable value and display an appeal rarely found in other bottles at this price point. Indeed, the white is the first Argentinian Sauvignon Blanc on the General List, and is, in quality terms, head and shoulders above similarly priced examples from elsewhere in the world.
After a few glasses of their own wine they seemed particularly amiable and chatty… and so we decided to capture them both on video.
If you are having trouble viewing this video please click here.
Edinburgh-born/Toronto-based Sommelier, consultant, writer, judge, and educator Jamie Drummond is the Director of Programs/Editor of Good Food Revolution… And he needs to visit Argentina one day to see if Michael’s story about the Malbec grape is true or not.
