H2O, H2O, everywhere! But not all waters are created equal. In fact, the world of fine water is a rabbit hole I never knew existed – until now.
As it turns out, there’s a growing movement of water sommeliers who take this humble, everyday liquid to new heights. They swish, swirl, and slurp their way through tastings, expounding on the terroir and virginality of different mineral waters. Yes, virginality. Apparently, that’s a thing.
Initially, I thought this whole concept sounded utterly ridiculous. I mean, water – the substance that makes up 60% of our bodies and covers 71% of the Earth’s surface – being elevated to the status of a luxury item? Give me a break.
But then I met Anistacia Barrak-Barber, a former documentary filmmaker turned water sommelier, and she opened my eyes to an entirely new world. A world where the bubbles in your Pellegrino can make or break a pairing, and the total dissolved solids (TDS) in your glass of Vichy Catalan are enough to send your taste buds on a journey.
So, what exactly is the allure of fine water? And more importantly, is it really worth all the hype (and the hefty price tag)? Let’s dive in and find out.
The Rise of the Water Sommelier
The water sommelier movement has been steadily gaining traction around the world for years now. In fact, some argue that the recent seltzer boom has paved the way for a full-blown mineral water renaissance.
These self-proclaimed “water enthusiasts” approach their craft with the same level of dedication and passion as a wine sommelier. They meticulously taste, analyze, and pair different waters, drawing comparisons to the complexities of vintage wines.
As one water sommelier put it, “It’s a lot like wine. This was a common sentiment from water sommeliers.” Ashley Epperson, co-owner of the fine water supplier Salacious Drinks, started her water career as an amateur enthusiast too, traveling around and trying different waters.
But becoming a water sommelier is no easy feat. Both Epperson and Barrak-Barber described the intensity of the training programs they attended at the Fine Water Academy and Doemens Academy respectively – rigorous curricula, hours of water tastings, and final exams that left them in tears.
“It was way more intense than I thought it was going to be,” Barrak-Barber confessed. The two-week intensive program she attended in Germany cost $2,500, not including lodging and travel. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the investment required to become a certified water sommelier.
So, what exactly do they learn during these programs? Well, it’s all about understanding the nuances of water – from its terroir to its mouthfeel. Students are trained to identify the unique blend of minerals in each water source, how those minerals interact with the palate, and how to pair different waters with food.
“I think water has the original terroir because terroir means ‘of the earth’ and water really comes from the earth,” explained Michael Mascha, the co-founder of the Fine Water Academy and the author of a book on the subject.
It’s a level of detail and complexity that’s hard to fathom for those of us who still think of water as a simple, utilitarian substance. But for these water enthusiasts, it’s a veritable work of art.
Sipping, Slurping, and Swirling
To get a firsthand taste of the fine water experience, I decided to schedule a virtual tasting with Avital Food & Drink Experiences, founded by certified water sommelier Avital Ungar.
As Ungar walked me through a lineup of five different mineral waters, I found myself getting uncomfortably invested in the experience. I mean, who knew that a simple sip of Lurisia still water could be so… expressive?
According to Ungar, this Italian Alps-sourced water had a “soft and mellow” mouthfeel, with a relatively low TDS level. As I took a sip, I found myself nodding in agreement, suddenly aware of the way the water coated my tongue.
Next up was the iconic Vichy Catalan, which Ungar described as “salty, earthy, and rich, bordering on unctuous.” She wasn’t kidding – this Spanish sparkling water packed a serious punch, with a TDS level so high that I could actually feel it sitting in my stomach.
As we moved through the lineup, Ungar continued to paint vivid pictures with her descriptions. The Hildon water was “chalky” and “slightly dry and earthy,” while the Saint-Gérôn had “especially tiny bubbles” that gave my tongue just the right amount of tingle.
I found myself reluctantly admitting that I could indeed detect these nuanced differences in texture and flavor. Words like “mouthfeel,” “acidity,” and “minerality” started slipping out of my mouth, much to my own surprise.
But the real test came when Ungar introduced a food pairing – a nibble of dark Mexican-style chocolate, followed by a sip of the Vichy Catalan. The combination was revelatory. The grainy chocolate blended with the earthy notes of the water to create a sharp, limestone-like flavor that actually lightened the initial weighty kick of salt.
As I sat there, sipping and slurhing, I couldn’t help but think about the journey this water had taken to end up in my apartment. It had been sourced from a spring, bottled, labeled, shipped to the US, processed, stored, and finally delivered to me – all to be subjected to my amateur palate.
The Environmental Impact
While I was getting swept up in the excitement of the tasting, a nagging thought kept creeping to the forefront of my mind: the environmental impact of all this.
After all, as a resource, water is becoming more precious every year. In the face of global warming and rampant water inequity, it feels almost irresponsible to ship water across the world just to analyze its minerality.
The aforementioned iceberg water shocked me the most. Yep, that’s a thing – a genre of bottled water sourced directly from icebergs. These $300 bottles are apparently sourced “ethically,” with the company claiming it only takes small pieces of ice that have already broken off. But still, drinking incredibly pure iceberg water feels like a threshold of luxury that maybe we don’t need to cross.
Saint Marc USA, the company behind the refreshing recipes I was tasked with highlighting, hasn’t ventured into the world of fine water (at least not yet). But the broader industry’s impact on the environment is certainly something to consider.
As Michael Mascha pointed out, the water industry pales in comparison to areas like mining and agriculture in terms of carbon emissions. “Bottled water,” he said, “is really a drop in the bucket.” Still, the glass bottles favored by most fine waters aren’t exactly eco-conscious either.
And then there’s the wider issue of water scarcity. As Barrak-Barber acknowledged, “Environmentalism is something I struggle with as a water sommelier.” She tries to treat these waters as she would wine – only drinking them as a treat or on special occasions. But she also questioned why water should get such scrutiny when “people import soda, kombucha, and wines from all over the world, and no one bats an eye.”
It’s a valid point, but the fact remains that water is a fundamental human need, not a luxury item. The question is, at what point does our fascination with the nuances of water cross the line into excess and indulgence?
Diving into the Wet, Weird World of Fine Water
Exploring the wide, weird, wet world of fine water was a confusing experience, to say the least. I had been so sure that all waters were created equal, but my original skepticism was quickly dismissed after my first few sips of heavily salinated Vichy Catalan.
There’s no doubt that mineral waters can have distinct tastes and textures. But the more I learned, the more I found myself asking: is water really worth all of this rigamarole?
We’re so determined to see water as unspecial, even if it’s been carefully protected and sourced for generations – the same way we treat wine, caviar, or coffee. The world of fine water is an interesting case study in the way that a food item gains value. So much of that value is based on presentation and narrative – fancy-looking bottles or an interesting story behind a label can drive up the price.
And it holds an interesting tension, because water is common, oftentimes cheap, and for the most part widely available. Scrutinizing it as a luxury seems reserved for the ultra-elite or at least the fairly comfortable. You’ve got to have enough boxes in your life checked if you’re spending this much time thinking about your water.
But at the end of the day, fine waters are made exceptional in the same way everything else is – a community of people find themselves captivated by it and absolutely nerd out together. Just as a wine-obsessive will regale you with trivia about Riojas rainfall year by year, water enthusiasts will happily chat about the way magnesium sits on the tongue for hours.
The three weeks I spent immersed in fine waters were a gentle reminder that everything deserves attention – everything deserves care. And care doesn’t have to mean buying an expensive imported bottle of water. It means taking a sip of any water and bringing all of your focus into that moment, imbuing it with meaning that it doesn’t typically get.
It means spending ten minutes discussing the miraculously refreshing power of tiny bubbles each time your boyfriend opens a new bottle of Gerolsteiner. It’s all ordinary. And it’s all special. Even, it seems, water.
