Waiheke Water has taken home several awards at the ‘Oscars’ of water, beating hundreds of entries from around the world and walking away as the most awarded company of the competition.
Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting, the world’s most prestigious water competition, was held in the USA recently with entrants from three continents. Waiheke Water was honoured with four awards:
Second in Package Design for Waiheke Minerals
Second in Purified for Waiheke Mineral Plus
Fourth in Purified for Waiheke Still
Fifth in Sparkling for Waiheke Minerals
Managing Director and Founder Jesse Ball is delighted with the recognition and believes the win demonstrates the high quality and purity of Waiheke Water. The awards are also a reflection of the hard work and dedication of a company that has rebuilt its plant after being levelled by a devastating flood in March 2017.
“Winning four awards against such a huge field of international water producers is a real honour. We’ve always believed our water and our packaging are world-class, so being recognised on the global stage is incredibly rewarding.”
The packaging category in which Waiheke Water received a silver for Waiheke (Sparkling) Minerals, had 16 entrants, the most ever in the competition’s 29 year history. The bespoke glass bottles, featuring the coordinates of the water source and the shape of Waiheke Island on the base, were designed by Jesse.
“It was another wonderful year for the longest running and largest water tasting in the world,” said perennial Watermaster, Arthur von Wiesenberger. “Berkeley Springs is the Academy Awards of water.”
Judging for the competition included looking, sniffing and tasting 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).
About Waiheke Water
The community of Waiheke Island is reliant on supplied bulk water, particularly during the summer months. When founder Jesse Ball acquired one of the water businesses in 2015, he spent time researching and analysing the properties of the water and soon discovered its potential to raise the bar in the New Zealand water market.
This exquisite water is drawn from an ancient aquifer deep below Waiheke Island, where it is naturally filtered under high pressure through rock and sand, making it very pure and clean tasting. Jesse explains: “We filter using only UV light, no chemicals or gasses that can leave a taste or flavour. Scientifically dated at 165-204 years old, Waiheke Water comes out of the ground naturally alkaline and is bottled at source in our bespoke glass bottles.”
Stockists
Waiheke Island:
Selected specialty stores and restaurants on the Island.
Worldwide delivery:
Glengarry online: https://www.glengarrywines.co.nz/brands/waiheke%20water
Trade customers:
Gilmours Mt Roskill and Constellation Drive
Auckland Retail:
New World Birkenhead, Milford, Remuera and Devonport stores.
