Water tasting: How different can one glass of water be from another?

Sunday, 19 January 2025

David Nash is the first person to admit that a water tasting menu may sound “uppity”. But, he says, the water you're drinking can make a huge difference.

When is a glass of water not just a glass of water?

Well, if you’re at The College Hill Wine Room by David Nash, which offers a “selection of the finest water from New Zealand and abroad to ensure the perfect tasting experience”, it’s every day.

There’s a lot to consider on The Wine Room’s water list.

“Each of these waters displays its Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) which shows the softness of the water due to its low minerals and its pH, a lower pH showing more acidic notes, a pH of 6.7-7.3 showing neutral tones and anything higher showing sweetness.”

How much difference can there really be between waters? Quite a lot, as it turns out.

Cor blimey, you might be thinking by this point, and a proud and slightly abashed Nash is the first person to admit that the concept of a water tasting menu may sound “uppity”.

“I knew it was always a bit of a crazy idea,” chimes in sommelier Joe Costello, “because some people just think it’s… just water.”

This was one of those stories that started out somewhere different, with an exclusive invitation for “an evening of opulence” to celebrate the opening of this “new neighbourhood wine bar and Auckland’s exclusive home of fine wine retail and private dining”. In short, The Wine Room has been designed as a wine haven, with private rooms and a subterranean cellar where the bottled elite can rent space to store their extensive private collections.

The Wine Room’s food is great too, but don’t let it distract from the water.

At this carefully-curated launch soiree - “all of you have been chosen because you have influence” - we feasted on crayfish and prawn courgette flowers; white asparagus with caviar; and wagyu sirloin with bone marrow, mushrooms and nasturtium.

I think the idea was that I’d write about the food, but as I ruminated the next day, the detail that stuck with me was an offhand comment from Costello about how proud he was of his water menu.

“We were sitting in the office one day, going through our wine list, and Dave said to me ‘Why don’t we do a water menu?’ and I said ‘I’ve actually got one already’, and that was it.”

Sommelier Joe Costello explains the finer points of water to a sceptical Craig Hoyle.

Could water, I wondered, really taste all that different? The thought rumbled around - and to cut a long story short, a few weeks later I was back at The Wine Room with Nash and Costello for a full exploration of said water menu.

Some credentials here: Nash is one of Aotearoa’s foremost wine professionals; the co-founder and co-owner of Helio, The Marlborist, Alpine Rift wines and the Bluff Distillery, and the writer and director of Kiwi wine film A Seat at the Table. Costello, meanwhile, has more than a decade of experience in hospitality, ranging from premium hotels to fine dining restaurants - including almost five years at Sidart - and is a firm believer in the nuances of H2O.

“It’s true, waters taste different,” explains Costello to this somewhat sceptical writer. “You buy bottled water from the shop, and you probably have a preference which one you go for.

Craig Hoyle had his doubts, but was surprised to find he did indeed have a favourite water.

“Not all water companies are kind of in the background going ‘haha those fools, we’re all the same’… They’re all different.”

An afternoon of drinking water may sound dull, but never fear; there’s also a generous selection of wines and cheeses, which Nash says is important for gauging the true aqual outcome.

David Nash is one of Aotearoa’s foremost wine professionals.

“Water does have a huge impact on how that wine’s going to taste, how that food’s going to taste.”

For posterity, these are the four waters on offer at The Wine Room:

Antipodes Still or Sparkling; Whakatāne; TDS 120mg/l pH7, $14. “This water rises from Aotearoa New Zealand’s deepest, highest quality aquifer. Untouched and naturally filtered through dense ignimbrite rock, its age when bottled is between 50 and 300 years.”

Remember folks, it’s important to stay hydrated.

Oravida Still or Sparkling; Otakira & Whakatāne; TDS 140mg/l pH7.2, $14. “Sourced from an ancient underground aquifer deep beneath New Zealand’s pristine landscapes, this water has journeyed through time, untouched and unaltered for over 1800 years.”
Gerolsteiner; Gerolstein, Eifel, Germany; TDS 2488mg/l pH5.9, $16. “A natural sparkling mineral water with elevated levels of calcium and magnesium adding to its hardness. With big bubbles and above average mineral content, Gerolsteiner leaves a lasting impression on the palate, and for athletes or the health conscious an added edge.”
Vichy Catalan; Catalonia, Spain; TDS 2900mg/l pH8, $16. “Vichy Catalan water was first bottled in 1889, and an influx of visitors led to the construction of a spa soon after. Water and carbon dioxide gas are harvested separately from the source, after the water has cooled the gas is added back in.”

Why these four? Says Nash: “It’s all about discovery and pushing people at times outside of their comfort zone.”

(For the record, at the time of tasting The Wine Room’s stock of Vichy Catalan was yet to arrive, so the Italian San Pellegrino stood in as our fourth sample.)

The process went something like this: water, cheese, water, wine; water, cheese, water, wine. To my surprise, I could indeed tell the difference between the waters. I don’t know that they varied in flavour exactly; but some were noticeably softer or harder, and the variations in carbonation shifted how the subsequent wines and cheeses tasted.

Nash and Costello further explain that while today we’re just sampling chilled sparkling water, there’s much more to consider in the world of water-tasting, including temperature and glassware - and personal preference. Around 80% of customers prefer sparkling, says Costello, with 15% opting for tap, and a much smaller number opting for still.

“Room-temp still and sparkling is quite popular as well, so I’ve always made sure to keep a couple of cases just at room temperature rather than in the fridge and chilling.”

Adds Nash: “Temperature is definitely a big thing to watch out for. If you’re on red wines and you’re at that point of the meal, serving an ice-cold racy glass of sparkling water, it’s definitely going to have a big impact on that experience.”

And to my further surprise, I even have a favourite water: the Antipodes Sparking is clean and fresh, and leaves a pleasant feeling in the mouth that’s not quite matched by the other three.

Still think this all sounds a bit uppity? Nash has a simple message.

“Come in for a tasting, and you’ll see for yourself!”

For more information, including bookings and menus, visit ateliernash.co.nz/pages/the-wine-room

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