To many people, water is just water — a drink necessary for survival. To Lodovico Di Gioia, it’s much more.
The native of Italy works as a water sommelier at Danone, a major bottler of mineral water whose brands include Evian, Volvic and Badoit. Much like a connoisseur of fine wines, Di Gioia has a trained palette, but his is attuned to the subtle but distinctive tastes and textures of H2O.
He first holds a glass of water up to the light to look for any visible sediments, then checks for odors like sulfur from volcanic springs. He listens to the crackle and pop of bubbles in sparkling water, which “should sound like pieces of ice clashing together,” he says. Next there’s the taste — with salty, crisp or sweet notes — and what Di Gioia calls “mouthfeel,” which varies depending on the minerals the water has accumulated during its journey through the Earth.
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