The Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting presented awards to waters from four continents. Judges tasted 100 waters entered from five continents.
Municipal water
The municipal water category saw a U.S. sweep. All three medalists have formerly been awarded gold at the festival. Santa Ana, Calif. took home their third Gold Medal. Silver medal was won by Village of Montpelier, Ohio, and Bronze went to Emporia, Kansas. Fourth place was Dickinson, N.D., and in fifth place, just a single point behind, was Harpers Ferry, W.Va.
“The consistency in winners from year to year with different panels of judges validates the choices,” remarked watermaster, Arthur von Wiesenberger. “It also speaks to the impressively high caliber of the waters entered.”
Bottled, non-carbonated
Winning their first Gold Medal in the Bottled Non-Carbonated Water Category was three-time Silver Medal winner Eldorado Natural Spring Water from Eldorado Springs, Colorado.
First-time entries, Piney Plains Natural Spring Water, Little Orleans, Md. took Silver, and Peninsula Springs Spring Water, Doveton, Victoria, Australia won Bronze. Rounding out the category was last year’s Bronze Medal winner, Jano, Village-Blanchard, NB, Canada in fourth, and former Gold Medal winner Theoni Natural Mineral Water, Karditsa, Greece in fifth.
Over a dozen entrants in the 2024 contest sported a medal-decorated label that showed they had previously won at the International Water Tasting.
Eleven media judges spent hours tasting and selecting from waters from 20 states, three Canadian provinces and 14 foreign countries.
photo by Lisa Schauer
“There were municipal entries from Canada, Australia as well as across the United States. The total of countries over the life of the event is 59, including waters from Tasmania, Turkey, Bosnia, Greece and New Zealand,” said Jill Klein Rone, event producer.
Sparkling water
The Sparkling Water winners came from three continents. The Gold Medal went to previous Silver medalist Otakiri Reserve Sparkling, Otakiri, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. Silver this year went to multi-medalist, Castle Rock Water, Mount Shasta, Calif. Bronze was a new entry, Little Hampton Sparkling, Doveton, Victoria, Australia. Fourth and fifth were returning favorites, with Aqua To Go Sparkling, Doveton, Victoria, Australia in 4th and Theoni Carbonated Natural Mineral Water, Karditsa, Greece in 5th.
Purified water
Last year’s 4th place winner, Mountain Springs Spring Water, St Kitts & Nevis, West Indies took home their first Gold in the Purified Water category. Multi-medalist LeSage Natural Water, Lesage, W.Va. added another Silver Medal to their collection, and were present to accept their award. Bronze was given to Norland Pure Premium Enhanced Water, Lincoln, Nebraska, who were also present. Last year’s Gold Medalist placed 4th this year, Taifer Group 100% Deep Ocean Water, Hualien City, Taiwan, and in 5th place was another multi-medalist, Berkeley Springs Water, “Ye Famed Springs.”
von Wiesenberger also praised the selection of the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Marc Edwards, a University Professor of Civil Engineering whose research group conducted the investigative science uncovering the 2001-2004 D.C. Lead Crisis and the 2014-2016 Flint Water Disaster.
He also welcomed participation of the award sponsorship by Tesanjski kiseljak and company Zema d.o.o from Tesanj, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Online voting for the People’s Choice package design had 11 entrants competing for most alluring. The distinctive can featuring a wooly mammoth from Wilderness Mountain Water Company, Bland, Va. earned the Gold Medal on their first time entering the contest and was present to accept the award.
HYDRA Greek Island Springs, Chania, Greece, with their blue plastic bottle with the diamond design took Silver. The cobalt blue bottle from Saratoga Spring Water, Foster Township, Pa. won Bronze. Clearly Canadian Sparkling, Marchand, MAN, Canada and Pirenco Patagonia Agua Mineral Natural Artesian Water, Chubut, Argentina placed 4th and 5th.
Concluding the multi-day water festival is the famed “water rush” where the audience is invited to take home hundreds of bottles of water sent as part of the judging.
While it takes hours to arrange the bottles, the crowd spent less than 10 minutes making it all disappear.
“We were pleased to see our favorite couple from Brooklyn in the rush. Peter and Cynthia Lloyd come every year especially for the water tasting – and the rush,” said Klein Rone.
The 11 media judges selected by Klein Rone included representatives from West Virginia Public Broadcasting and Insider’s Guide to Spas, as well as various regional and national media including newspapers, websites, blogs, and online and print magazines. They were trained by von Wiesenberger to look, sniff and taste each water under guidelines similar to those in a wine tasting.
The waters were rated for each attribute including appearance (it should be clear – or slightly opaque for glacial waters), aroma (there should be none), taste (it should taste clean), mouth feel (it should feel light), aftertaste (it should leave you thirsty for more).
The judges’ job is crucial and so is their training. All judges are presented with a diploma designating them as a Certified Water Taster.
The event was produced by Travel Berkeley Springs, with support from Host Bottler, Floridian Spring Water, Inc., and held at The Country Inn.
The 35th annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting is scheduled for Saturday, February 22, 2025.
The event seminar on Friday and Saturday’s award ceremony were live streamed and are available for future viewing on the BerkeleySpringsWV Facebook page. For more information on Berkeley Springs or its water tasting, call 304-258-9147 or check the website.
Best Municipal Water 2024
1st – Santa Ana, California
2nd – Village of Montpelier, Ohio
3rd – Emporia, Kansas
4th – Dickinson, N.D.
5th – Harpers Ferry, W.Va.
Best Non-carbonated Water 2024
1st – Eldorado Natural Spring Water, Eldorado Springs, Colorado
2nd – Piney Plains Natural Spring Water, Little Orleans, Md.
3rd – Peninsula Springs Spring Water, Doveton, Victoria, Australia
4th – Jano, Village-Blanchard, NB, Canada
5th – Theoni Natural Mineral Water, Karditsa, Greece
Best Sparkling Water – 2024
1st – Otakiri Reserve Sparkling, Otakiri, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
2nd – Castle Rock Water, Mount Shasta, Calif.
3rd – Little Hampton Sparkling, Doveton, Victoria, Australia
4th – Aqua To Go Sparkling, Doveton, Victoria, Australia
5th – Theoni Carbonated Natural Mineral Water, Karditsa, Greece
Best Purified Drinking Water – 2024
1st – Mountain Springs Spring Water, St Kitts & Nevis, West Indies
2nd – Lesage Natural Water, Lesage, W. Va
3rd – Norland Pure Premium Enhanced Water, Lincoln, Nebraska
4th – Taifer Group 100% Deep Ocean Water, Hualien City, Taiwan
5th – Berkeley Springs Water, “Ye Famed Springs” Berkeley Springs.
People’s Choice Package Design – 2024
1st – Wilderness Mountain Water Company, Bland, Va.
2nd – Hydra Greek Island Springs, Chania, Greece
3rd – Saratoga Spring Water, Foster Township, Pa.
4th – Clearly Canadian Sparkling, Marchand, MAN, Canada
5th – Pirenco Patagonia Agua Mineral Natural Artesian Water, Chubut, Argentina
