35th Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting is in the Books

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. –– The 35^th Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting, the world’s most prestigious, gave out awards tonight to waters from three continents. Four continents total had waters among the over 80 entered.

The Municipal Water Category saw a US sweep, from the West Coast to the East Coast and in between, including three previous gold medal winners.  Emporia, KS took home their second Gold Medal.  Silver medal was won by hometown favorite, Berkeley Springs, WV, and Bronze went to Mission Springs Water District, Desert Hot Springs, CA.  Fourth place was Southwest Water Authority, Dickinson, ND, and tied for fifth place, just one single point behind, was Piedmont, WV and City of Santa Ana, CA.

“The consistency in winners from year to year with different panels of judges validates the choices,” remarked esteemed watermaster, Arthur von Wiesenberger.  “It also speaks to the impressively high caliber of the waters entered.”

Winning their second Gold Medal in the Bottled Non-Carbonated Water Category, is Theoni Natural Mineral Water, Karditsa, Greece.  Shenandoah Rain, Edinburg, VA won Silver and previous gold medal winner Eldorado Natural Spring Water, Eldorado Springs, CO took home Bronze.  Another previous Gold Medal winner, Zaros Natural Mineral Water placed 4th and Berkeley Springs Water came in 5^th.

The event proves valuable for bottled waters both carbonated and still.  Waters use a win in Berkeley Springs for bragging rights and often redesign their labels to include the gold, silver or bronze medal. Over a dozen entrants in the 2025 contest sported a medal decorated label.

Ten media judges spent hours tasting and selecting from waters sourced in nineteen states, four Canadian provinces and eight foreign countries. “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.

The Sparkling Water winners came from 3 continents.  The Gold Medal went to Wilderness Mountain Water, Bland, VA.  Silver and bronze this year went to multi-medalists, Antipodes Water, Otakiri, Whakatane, New Zealand and Tesanjaki Kiseljack, Tesanj, Bosnia.  4^th went to previous gold medal winner Little Hampton Sparkling, Doveton, Victoria, Australia.  And in 5^th place, new entry Adobe Mountain, Sacramento, CA.

The Gold Medal in the Purified category went to DrinkMore Water, Gaithersburg, MD.  Multi medalist Le Sage Natural Water, Lesage, WV took Silver.  The Bronze went to a previous multi Gold medalist, Ophora Hyper-Oxygenated® Water, Santa Barbara, CA.

“It was another wonderful year for the largest and longest running water tasting in the world,” said von Wiesenberger. “Berkeley Springs is the Academy Awards of Water.”  He also praised the selection of the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient OneDrop Foundation. Created by Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte, they envision a better world, where all have access to living conditions that allow empowerment and development. They aim to ensure sustainable access to safe water and sanitation for the most vulnerable communities through innovative partnerships, creativity and the power of art.

Online voting for the People’s Choice package design was initiated in 2021.  The packaging category had 11 entrants competing for most alluring.  The colorful reusable aluminum container from Little Orleans, MD, Piney Plains Natural Spring Water won Gold. The distinctive can featuring a wooly mammoth from Wilderness Mountain Water Company, Bland, VA earned the Silver Medal on their second time entering the contest, and was present to accept the award.  Last year they took home the Gold.  Adobe Mountain from Sacramento, CA took home Bronze with their elegant fluted glass bottle.  Intentions Water, Henderson, TN and Turtle Water, Gadsden, AL placed 4^th and 5^th.

Conclusion of the daylong water tasting 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 five 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 ten media judges selected by Klein Rone included The WV Food Guy, representatives from Academic Travel Abroad 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 and held at The Country Inn. The 36th annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting is scheduled for Saturday, February 21, 2026.  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 2025

1^st – Emporia, KS

2^nd – Berkeley Springs, WV

3^rd – Mission Springs Water District, Desert Hot Springs, CA

4^th – Southwest Water Authority, Dickinson, ND

5^th – Tie: City of Santa Ana, CA & Piedmont, WV

Best Non-carbonated Water 2025

1^st – Theoni Natural Mineral Water, Karditsa, Greece

2^nd – Shenandoah Rain, Edinburgh, VA

3^rd – Eldorado Natural Spring Water, Eldorado Springs, CO

4^th – Zaros Natural Mineral Water, Zaros, Crete, Greece

5^th –  Berkeley Springs Water, Berkeley Springs, WV

Best Sparkling Water – 2025

1^st – Wilderness Mountain Water Company, Bland, VA

2^nd – Antipodes Water, Otakiri, Whakatane, New Zealand

3^rd – Tesanjski kiseljak, Tesanj, Bosnia

4^th – Little Hampton Sparkling, Doveton, Victoria, Australia

5^th – Adobe Mountain, Sacramento, CA

Best Purified Drinking Water – 2025

1^st – DrinkMore Water, Gaithersburg, MD

2^nd – Lesage Natural Water, Lesage, WV

3^rd – Ophora Hyper-Oxygenated® Water, Santa Barbara, CA

People’s Choice Package Design – 2025

1^st – Piney Plains Natural Spring Water, Little Orleans, MD

2^nd – Wilderness Mountain Water Company, Bland, VA

3^rd – Adobe Mountain, Sacramento, CA

4^th – Intentions Water, Henderson, TN

5^th – Turtle Water, Gadsden, AL