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Berkeley Springs International
Water
Tasting Press Information
 CONTENTS:
BERKELEY SPRINGS
INTERNATIONAL WATER TASTING
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Water
is everywhere, covering 3/4 of the planet's surface.
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97%
of the Earth's water is salt water and over 2% is polluted or part
of the ice cap, leaving less than 2% available for human use.
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Water
cleanses, comforts and heals.
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An indispensable
nutrient, it makes up most of human body weight.
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75%
of Americans are chronically dehydrated.
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A mere
2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term memory, trouble
with basic math and difficulty focusing on the computer screen and/or
on a printed page.
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Drinking
5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%,
can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79% and one is 50% less likely
to develop bladder cancer.
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84%
of Americans feel the pollution of water is a major problem.
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United
Nations' International Decade for Action, Water for Life ~ Celebrated
in Berkeley Springs February 22 -25, 2007.
SEVENTEENTH
ANNUAL BERKELEY SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL WATER TASTING
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE • February 10, 2007
Travel Berkeley Springs - Berkeley Springs, West Virginia
Press Contact: Jill Klein Rone • 304-258-3302
February 22 -25, 2007.
BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV -- The award-winning 17th annual Berkeley Springs
International Water Tasting welcomes bottled and municipal waters
from around the world on Saturday, February 24. Held at The Country
Inn in the historic spa town in West Virginia, it is the largest
and longest running water tasting competition in the world.
Tasting of municipal waters, followed by purified drinking water, begins
at 2:30pm. Bottled waters, both still and sparkling, are tasted at
6:30pm. Winners in all categories are announced at a public awards
reception at 8pm. The evening finale comes with the world famous "water
rush."
Entries come from California and Oregon to Florida across the U.S.,
and 11 countries including three Canadian provinces, Armenia, New Zealand,
Sweden, Norway, Argentina, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Brazil, Tasmania and the
Philippines.
All day Saturday, the public tastes water along with the distinguished
panel of media judges and votes for the People's Choice award for best
packaging. Following the awards ceremony, attendees scramble to see
who can take home favorite samples of participating waters in the "water
rush" made famous by Games Across America.
Watermaster Arthur von Wiesenberger, noted expert and author from Santa
Barbara, CA, trains the media judges and directs the challenge of evaluating
a product where tastelessness is the most sought after quality. The
unique event, dubbed the "granddaddy of water tastings," by
von Wiesenberger, is produced by Travel Berkeley Springs. It is free
and open to the public.
Handcrafted fused-glass slump bowls created by Amingo Glass of Hedgesville,
WV are presented as awards in the municipal, bottled and still water
categories as well as for purified drinking water and best packaging
design.
Judges for the 2007 Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting include
freelance journalists and representatives from Condé Nast, Harper's
Magazine, Travel & Leisure, Baltimore Sun, Pittsburgh Business
Journal, Philadelphia New Observer, Times-Union, Frederick News-Post
and NBC-TV.
"
Water: Our Legacy," the event's seminar, addresses industry issues
on Friday afternoon from 1 - 5pm. Featured speakers included Joe Donovan,
a hydrogeologist from WV University Morgantown; Carol Boughton, a hydrologist
with the US Geological Survey; Abby Chapple, founder of Potomac Water
Watch and Tamme Marggraf, an acupuncturist and director of the Museum
of the Berkeley Springs. Moderating the seminar, watermaster von Wiesenberger
presents the history of bottled water.
The water tasting weekend begins on Thursday, February 22, with preliminary
tastings at The Country Inn. Special events and activities continue
everywhere in Morgan County through Sunday, February 25.
The Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting is the centerpiece
event of the award-winning Winter Festival of the Waters which features
three months of special activities, sales, and accommodation packages.
For more information and a free calendar of events, call Travel Berkeley
Springs -- 800-447-8797 or check the award-winning Website -- www.berkeleysprings.com.
WATER
SEMINAR BEGINS INTERNATIONAL WATER TASTING
SUPPLY & DEMAND, PROBLEMS & PROTECTION ~
BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV – ---- "Water: Our Legacy," kicks
off the 17th Annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting on
Friday, February 23. The free afternoon seminar brings together the
public and members of the municipal and bottled water industries from
1 to 5pm to discuss pressing regional, national and global issues with
four water experts and an acupuncturist. The seminar, and Saturday's
tastings, are held at The Country Inn adjacent to the famed warm mineral
waters in downtown Berkeley Springs, West Virginia.
“
The problem with water -- and there is a problem – is that no
new water is being made, we have only what is on earth now and much
of it is polluted, so we all have a responsibility to clean it up and
then protect every precious drop," says Abby Chapple, founder
of Potomac Water Watch and one of the seminar speakers. Chapple is
currently a member of the Morgan County Rural Water committee and has
long been involved in regional water issues. Her new organization,
Potomac Water Watch, focuses on pollution, fish kills, intersex, emerging
contaminants and endocrine disrupters. Speaking on “The Dark
Side of White-Washed Products,” Chapple connects endocrine disrupters
to common products people buy.
Joe Donovan is a professor of Hydrogeology at West Virginia University
in Morgantown. He has studied groundwater occurrence and chemistry
throughout many parts of the US and Canada and has been involved in
exploration for water in underground mine aquifers and in karst aquifers
of eastern West Virginia. Donovan is actively engaged in groundwater
research in the Eastern Panhandle. In a presentation entitled: “The
Cacapon Mountain Aquifer: it’s ‘wherezitgoing,’ not ‘whodunit,’” Donovan
takes seminar participants on a trip through time and space to understand
the source and destination of this water and the impact on resource
use. His presentation is of particular interest to all owners of natural
springs used for water supply.
Hydrologist Carol Boughton addresses water resources, water quality
issues and possible water shortages facing the Eastern Panhandle caused
both by population growth and the region’s karst geology. Boughton
is the field office chief for the US Geological Survey, at the WV Science
Center in Leetown, WV.
With a totally different perspective on water, acupuncturist Tamme
Marggraf explains the functions, gifts and challenges of the five elements
of nature according to Chinese philosophy focusing particularly on
water's relationship to the four other elements: wood, fire, earth
and metal. Blending an academic background in psychology, religion
and acupuncture, with training in theater, Marggraf’s presentation
is entertaining as well as informative. Marggraf is also the Executive
Director of the Museum of the Berkeley Springs, which showcases the
local springs and their impact on centuries of visitors who "come
to take the waters" for their healing benefits.
Host of the seminar is Arthur von Wiesenberger, international water
expert, noted author and the longtime water master of Berkeley Springs
event. Von Wiesenberger explores the history of bottled water, from
its humble beginnings to its stellar rise to the beverage of choice,
for millions. "Last December, the U.S. Census Bureau announced
that in 2006 Americans bought more bottled water than beer for the
first time," says von Wiesenberger. Three years earlier, bottled
water became second only to carbonated soft drinks as the world's most
consumed beverage.
The two-day 17th annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting
with more than 100 competing waters from all over the world is held
for the first time at The Country Inn on Friday and Saturday, February
23 and 24 and is produced by Travel Berkeley Springs. All events are
free and open to the public. Special activities and sales are offered
countywide beginning Thursday and continuing through Sunday.
The Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting is centerpiece of
the award winning Winter Festival of the Waters, featuring three months
of special activities, sales, and accommodation packages. For a free
calendar of events call 800-447-8797 or check the award-winning www.berkeleysprings.com.
For bios of seminar speakers and more information on their topics of
discussion visit www.berkeleysprings.com/water
OHIO
NABS THE GOLD AT ACADEMY AWARDS OF WATER
17th Annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting Competition Results
For IMMEDIATE RELEASE--February 24, 2007
For additional Information contact: Jill Klein Rone (304) 258-3302
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BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV ----- Getting a day's jump on the Hollywood crowd, tiny
Berkeley Springs, West Virginia honored more than 30 world waters in what organizers
of the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting are calling the Academy
Awards of Water. Winner of the Best Municipal Water category was Montpelier,
Ohio which won the same category in 2006 and 2003. Three British Columbia towns
-- Clearbrook, Elkford and Campbell River -- placed second, third and fourth
respectively. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, a former
gold medal winner, came in fifth making them the second best water in the United
States. There were 32 waters from 13 states and three Canadian provinces entered.
Event producer Jill Klein Rone explained that the last time the tasting saw
back to back gold medalists was in 1993 and 4 when Atlantic City placed first.
"
Good water rises to the top," said Klein Rone. "Our tasting process
is vindicated when the same waters are rated by a completely different panel
of judges and still win." Atlantic City was the only other three time
gold medalist.
More than 200 people watched at the Country Inn in Berkeley Springs on February
24 as a dozen media judges spent hours tasting more than 100 waters from 23
states and ten foreign countries from New Zealand and Armenia to Grenada and
the Philippines. Arthur von Wiesenberger, author and founder of BottledWaterWeb.com
once again served as the event's watermaster. "This is the longest running
and largest water tasting in the world," he said.
The challenge to distinguish and rate subtle differences in the bottled water
led to another first this year -- two ties in the bottled water category where
an American and a Canadian water tied for both gold and silver. I Am Healthy
from Mount Palomar, CA tied for gold with Muskoka Natural Spring water from
Gravenhurst, Ontario. Tied for silver were John Deere Artisan Water of Grayling,
MI and Ramona Springs, Washago, Ontario. Third place was ESKA from St-Mathieu
d'Harricana, Quebec; fourth was Aquaroyale from Baguio, Philippines and fifth
was Woolrich Spring Water from Woolrich,PA. All seven of the top five bottled
waters were new to the winners circle this year.
Unlike 2006, international waters did not sweep the sparkling water category
although four different Bosnian waters did rate second through fifth place.
Sparkling StoneClear Springs from Vanleer, Tennessee won the gold medal for
sparkling waters. Their previous placement was a bronze in 2004.
Purified water which is processed and bottled municipal tap water became a
category in 2001. "We added them because this is a growing field," said
von Wiesenberger. The 2007 winner was Coral Water from Rost Labs, FL. Crystal
Mountain Natural Spring Water from Huntsville, AL placed second; third was
Daytona Beach, FL. Chill from Mechanicsville, VA placed fourth even though
it boasted a silver medal on its label earned in 2005. Fifth was Stone Clear
Premium from Vanleer, TN.
The crowd was most interested in the peoples' choice packaging competition
where it was their votes that chose which product was the most alluring. "We
knew our choice of being the Academy Awards of Water was a good one when we
saw the entry from Aquadeco," said Klein Rone. "Their glass bottle
has a look remarkably similar to Oscar," she said. The crowd agreed. Voting
all day, Aquadeco filled with water from Mount Ararat, Armenia wowed the crowd
winning first place in packaging. Second place was the sleek glass column from
Dabau Luxury Water of New York City; third was StoneClear Springs Natural Spring
Water from Vanleer, TN; Waiwera Infinity Artesian Water which won in 2006 placed
fourth. The curvy light green glass bottle came from Waiwera, New Zealand.
Closing out the field was the deep blue Aquarius Oxygen Water from Eugene,
OR.
"
It will be interesting to see how many of this year's winners follow the pattern
and use an image of the medal they won in Berkeley Springs on their bottles," said
Jeanne Mozier, one of the event's founders. Mozier collected a dozen entrants
from the event that already sported the Berkeley Springs seal. "This is
exactly the type of global recognition for Berkeley Springs that we hoped for
when the event was initiated in 1991," she said. Bottles with the event
medal on them are kept on display in the Visitors Center office.
A dozen media judges selected by Klein Rone from publications including The
Washington Post, Travel Leisure, Conde Naste and the Baltimore Sun were instructed
by von Wiesenberger to look, sniff and taste each water under guidelines like
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). Waters were
tasted in four separate flights over two days.
The water tasting is the centerpiece of the Winter Festival of Waters, a three-month
series of special activities produced by Travel Berkeley Springs to heighten
winter tourism business in Morgan County.
The 18th annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting is scheduled for
Saturday, February 23, 2008.
Best Municipal Water 2007
1st - Montpelier, Ohio
2nd -- Clearbrook, British Columbia
3rd -- Elkford, British Columbia
4th -- Campbell River, British Columbia
5th -- Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Best Bottled Water
1st --TIE
I Am Healthy, Mount Palomar, CA
Muskoka Natural Spring Water, Gravenhurst, Ontario. Tied for silver were
2nd -- TIE
John Deere Artisan Water of Grayling, MI
Ramona Springs, Washago, Ontario.
3rd --ESKA from St-Mathieu d'Harricana, Quebec
4th -- Aquaroyale, Baguio, Philippines
5th -- Woolrich Spring Water, Woolrich, PA.
Best Sparkling
1st -- Sparkling StoneClear Springs, Vanleer, Tennessee
2nd - Esparanza, Tesanj, Bosnia
3rd - Tesanjski Dijamant, Tesanj, Bosnia
4th - Hana Sparkling, Tesanj, Bosnia
5th - Tesanjski Kiseljak, Tesanj, Bosnia
Best Packaging
1st -- Aquadeco, Mount Ararat, Armenia
2nd -- Dabau Luxury Water, New York, NY
3rd -- StoneClear Springs Natural Spring Water, Vanleer, TN
4th -- Waiwera Infinity Artesian Water, Waiwera, New Zealand.
5th -- Aquarius Oxygen Water from Eugene, OR.
Purified Drinking Water
1st -- Coral Water, Rost Labs, FL
2nd -- Crystal Mountain Natural Spring Water, Huntsville, AL
3rd -- Daytona Beach, FL
4th -- Chill, Mechanicsville, Virginia
5th -- Stone Clear Premium, Vanleer, TN
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