FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – FEBRUARY 21, 2026

Travel Berkeley Springs – Berkeley Springs, WV

Press contact only:  Jill Klein Rone  – 304-258-3302   jillkr@earthlink.net

PHOTOS AVAILABLE — Contact Laura Smith – tbs@berkeleysprings.com

BIG WINS AT OLYMPICS OF WATER IN BERKELEY SPRINGS

BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV —–

The 36^th Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting, the world’s most prestigious, gave out awards tonight to waters from four continents. Five continents total had waters among the over 100 entries.

The Municipal Water Category saw a US sweep, including three previous gold medal winners.  Ft. Wayne, IN took home their first Gold Medal.  Silver medal was won by Metropolitan Water District of Southern CA, adding to their previous 3 Golds and 3 Silvers.  Two time Gold medalist Eldorado Springs, CO won Bronze.  California continued the streak with fourth place winner, Santa Ana, CA, that has previously won 2 Gold, 2 Silver & 1 Bronze.  Brand new entry Lloyd W. Michael Water Treatment Plant, Rancho Cucamonga, CA took fifth.

“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.”

The top 5 Bottled Non-Carbonated Waters came from four continents, with Gold going to Babinda Springs, Babinda, Queensland, Australia, a previous Bronze Medal winner.  One point behind, Jano Spring Water, Village Blanchard, NB, Canada won Silver, followed one point behind by Bronze winner Puritas Spring Water, Barkly East, South Africa.  Previous Gold Medalist Wilderness Mountain, Bland, VA, won 4^th.  5^th place was a tie between multi medalist Grand Springs, Alton, VA and first time entry San Graziano Mineral Water, Mariano Comense (Como) Italy.

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 2026 contest sported a medal decorated label.

Ten media judges spent hours tasting and selecting from waters sourced in seventeen states, two Canadian provinces and fourteen foreign countries. “There were municipal entries from Canada, and states from California to Florida. The total of countries over the life of the event is 63, including, new this year, waters from Tibet, South Africa, Hungary and Vietnam.” said Jill Klein Rone, event producer.

The Gold Medal in the Sparkling Water category went to San Graziano Water, Mariano Comense, Italy, a first time entry.  Adobe Mountain, Adobe Springs, CA took home Silver, and multi medalist Theoni Carbonated Natural Mineral Water, Karditsa, Greece, won Bronze.  4^th place was a tie between Azuga Sparkling Water, Prahova, Romania and Wilderness Mountain Smooth Sparkling, Bland, VA, last year’s Gold Medal winner.  Smeraldina Sparkling Artesian Water, Sardinia, Italy, a multi medal winner in the Non-Carbonated category placed for the first time in the Sparkling Water category, coming in 5^th.

The Gold Medal went to Aquae A.M.O.R.E. from Costa Mesa, CA, entering for their first time.  Multi medalist Le Sage Natural Water, Lesage, WV took Silver.  Norland Pure Premium Enhanced Water, Lincoln, NE, added another Bronze to their collection.

“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 George McGraw, founder and CEO of DigDeep. McGraw is a leading expert on water and sanitation access, with a focus on the United States.

While most people think of the water crisis as a problem in Africa or India, more than 2.2 million Americans still don’t have clean, running water or working toilets at home. (Crazy, right?)

George started DigDeep to help those communities build and manage their own water systems. They’ve brought clean, running water to thousands of families on the Navajo Nation, Texas border colonias and Appalachia.

Online voting for the People’s Choice package design was initiated in 2021.  The packaging category had 15 entrants competing for most alluring.  The faceted aqua bottle from PERIDOT Naturally Alkaline Super-Premium Low-Deuterium Ice Age Mineral Water, Pusztazamor, Hungary won Gold.  Cedar Mountain, Tioga County, PA took home Silver with their frosted 750ml bottle, and Bronze with their 375ml clear bottle.  4^th went to previous Gold medalist Wilderness Mountain Water from Bland, VA with their aluminum can featuring a wooly mammoth.  5^th was the slender fluted bottle from previous winner Adobe Mountain, Adobe Springs, CA.

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 representatives from Insider’s Guide to Spas,Table Magazine and Cool 92.9, 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 is held at The Country Inn and presented by the Town of Bath and Berkeley Springs Water Works in partnership with Travel Berkeley Springs. It is supported by major sponsors Peak Health of West Virginia and WV River’s Coalition, and a grant from Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area.  The 37th annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting is scheduled for Saturday, February 27, 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.

Best Municipal Water – 2026

1^st – Ft. Wayne, IN
2^nd – Metropolitan Water District of Southern CA
3^rd – Eldorado Springs, CO
4^th – Santa Ana, CA
5^th – Lloyd W. Michael Water Treatment Plant, Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Best Non-carbonated Water – 2026

1^st – Babinda Springs, Babinda, Queensland, Australia
2^nd – Jano Spring Water, Village Blanchard, NB, Canada
3^rd – Puritas Spring Water, Barkly East, South Africa
4^th – Wilderness Mountain, Bland, VA
5^th –  tie – Grand Springs, Alton, VA and San Graciano Mineral Water, Mariano Comense (Como) Italy

Best Sparkling Water – 2026

1^st – San Graziano Water, Mariano Comense, Italy
2^nd – Adobe Mountain, Adobe Springs, CA
3^rd – Theoni Carbonated Natural Mineral Water, Karditsa, Greece
4^th – tie – Azuga Sparkling Water, Prahova, Romania and Wilderness Mountain Smooth Sparkling, Bland, VA
5^th – Smeraldina Sparkling Artesian Water, Sardinia, Italy

Best Purified Drinking Water – 2026

1^st – Aquae A.M.O.R.E., Costa Mesa, CA
2^nd – Le Sage Natural Water, Lesage, WV
3^rd – Norland Pure Premium Enhanced Water, Lincoln, NE

People’s Choice Package Design – 2026

1^st – PERIDOT Naturally Alkaline Super-Premium Low-Deuterium Ice Age Mineral Water, Pusztazamor, Hungary
2^nd – Cedar Mountain, Tioga County, PA 750ml Frosted
3^rd – Cedar Mountain, Tioga County, PA 375ml Clear
4^th – Wilderness Mountain Water Company, Bland, VA
5^th – Adobe Mountain, Adobe Springs, CA