Der Beitrag Our new sustaining member: healsi from Portugal erschien zuerst auf Wassersommelier Union e.V..

A Look Behind the Scenes – Visiting the Largest Mineral Water Plant in North Rhine-Westphalia
On Friday morning, our excursion set out from Essen to Duisburg-Walsum to visit RheinfelsQuellen, part of the Hövelmann Beverage Group. The family-owned company bottles well-known brands at three locations. Rheinfels Quelle, Römerwall, Burgwallbronn, Sinalco (lemonade), and Staal are produced in Duisburg and Fachingen, while the regional Ardey Quelle is bottled at the Dortmund site.
Once there, we delved deeply into the company’s history, marketing, and product lines. Before three guided tours (two in German, one in English) of the state-of-the-art production facilities began, there was plenty of time to sample products from the three locations. The Duisburg mineral waters, all sourced from the same 530-hectare Rheinaue Walsum nature reserve, were fascinating and allowed us to taste 25,000 years of geological history from a depth of 250–300 meters.
To preserve the nature reserve—an idyllic floodplain landscape of white willows and orchard meadows—the company works closely with BUND and NABU (two of the largest and best-known environmental and nature conservation organizations in Germany) . With great success! Storks have returned to the area, and even a pair of white-tailed eagles is nesting here for the first time in the Ruhr region. Our successful outing came to a perfect close with a group lunch and good conversation at the Urfels Brewery in Walsum.

Good luck! Excursion to the Zollverein UNESCO World Heritage Site in Essen
Afterward, we took the bus to Zollverein in Essen. The guided tour there through what was once the world’s largest hard coal mine was a real highlight.
Amid gigantic machines and rust-red steel beams, we followed our guide along the “Path of Coal.” The tour took us from the massive coal washing plant through the impressive coking plant and up to the roof of the coal washing plant. From up there, we would normally have enjoyed a breathtaking panoramic view, but on this day, drizzle and fog prevented us from seeing it. Nevertheless, we could see how nature was reclaiming the site bit by bit. The contrast between the monumental industrial architecture from the 1930s and nature was striking. The guided tour was a journey through time that brought the miners’ hard work to life while also showing how industry gives rise to vibrant culture.
After a cozy dinner at “The Mine” restaurant at Zollverein, we headed back to our hotel.

Annual General Meeting

And as is the case every year, the annual meeting naturally included the annual general meeting (AGM). This year marked the 15th time it was held at the Essener Hof.

We looked back on the past association year, discussed current projects, and, as scheduled, elected the board of directors.

Jens Bunzel was re-elected as 1st Chair for another four years, thus entering his third term. Gerlinde Mock, as 2nd Chair, and founding member Joachim Kuppert, as assessor, will also continue their work.
New to the board is Bärbel Graf as second assessor. As a self-employed water sommelier, she supports the board with fresh perspectives and a strong connection to real-world practice.

Dr. Peter Schropp continues to play a central role in the association’s day-to-day work. Since the WSU’s founding in 2011, he has served the association as its managing director. In addition, he has established and significantly advanced the water sommelier training program at the Doemens Academy both nationally and internationally.

We thank our members for their trust and look forward to the next four years.

Presentations: Mineral Water Celebration Day 2026

After lunch, the program continued with four presentations by experts.

Maik Hünefeld (Association of German Mineral Springs (VDM), Managing Director of GFF)
Presentation: “Everyone Drinks Mineral Water?! Consumer Perceptions of This Natural Product”

Frank Stieldorf (Managing Director of the Quality Association for Organic Mineral Water)
Presentation: “The Organic Mineral Water Seal: The Guidelines and Goals of the Quality Association for Organic Mineral Water”

Patricia Fosselard (Secretary General, Natural Mineral Waters Europe)
Presentation: “Overview of the most important projects of Natural Mineral Waters Europe (NMWE)”

Dr. Peter Schropp (Doemens Academy GmbH, Managing Director of WSU)
Presentation: “The History of Carbonation in Mineral Water”

Many thanks to the speakers for their active support!
Between the presentations, attendees had the opportunity to taste 11 different mineral and medicinal waters from the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate and learn interesting details about these springs.

Following the presentations, members were able to participate in sensory exercises led by Dr. Peter Schropp, Gerlinde Mock, and Joachim Kuppert to test their sensory skills.

We look forward to presenting more interesting presentations next year as well. If you’d like to give a short presentation yourself, please contact the office!
We appreciate every contribution from our members!

Our annual meeting has once again shown that mineral water brings people together! For us at the WSU, it remains a true labor of love to share knowledge about our most valuable natural product, to bring its fascinating diversity to life, and to work together to protect our resources. Nature, enjoyment, continuing education, and responsibility—that’s what drives us.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped make this meeting an unforgettable experience!

Der Beitrag Jahrestreffen in Essen 2026 erschien zuerst auf Wassersommelier Union e.V..

We would like to thank all the candidates who took part on this wonderful challenge and delivered outstanding performances. But as you know – there is only one winner.

And the winner is Chen Yi-Syuan, the best Water Sommelière of Taiwan 2025! Congratulations from us all. Well deserved. 🎉🏆🥇

Becoming the Best Water Sommelier of Taiwan 2025 was no easy task.
After a theoretical preliminary round, the candidates faced a jury and an audience, mastering many crucial individual tasks with brillance, professionalism and charme.

Showing sensory evaluation, brand knowledge, mineral expertise, impressiv service and know-how for recommendations and pairings. And the most important factor: The love to water. 💦

We would like especially thank YVONNE WU and Dr. HOWARD HSIAH, the repräsentatives of the Water Sommelier Union e. V. of Asia, who, along with their wonderful team, were largely responsible for this impressive event!
A heartwarming thanks for your efforts and support, for your time and professionalism that you invested in the preparation and execution of this great challenge! It was really a great pleasure enjoying your wonderful hospitality, your appreciativ cooperation and the very professional ambience of this competition. ❤️

We definitely know, that water is the most important element available. And that water is a vital part of our well-being, our health and also for pleasure.

This event, the first ever to become the „Best Watersommelier“ of Taiwan, is a milestone for water, for all Water Sommeliers, for all water brands and water companies.

Thank you also to our wonderful interpreter Patricia Chen from Mandarin to English, who made it possible for us, to follow this event more effeciently. Many thanks also for the wonderful moderation of Ines @swiiching!

Der Beitrag Taiwan´s Best Water Sommelier 2025 erschien zuerst auf Wassersommelier Union e.V..

Der Beitrag New Sustaining Member Monfortinho erschien zuerst auf Wassersommelier Union e.V..

For our participants – and also for those who unfortunately could not attend – here is a review with short reports, impressive impressions, and beautiful pictures!

Soos Nature Reserve

Soos is an important national nature reserve in the Czech Eger Basin. It protects a moor that has become internationally known for its natural mofettes and mineral springs.

During our visit to Soos, heavy rainfall had saturated the ground surface with water, allowing us to observe an impressive natural spectacle: the rising gases (almost 99% of which is carbon dioxide) penetrate the surface water and, by bubbling in the depressions of the mofettes, give the impression of boiling water. The carbon dioxide escaping from the moor caves can be a deadly trap for small animals and birds that stay close to the ground, as we observed in some places.

“Very salty, metallic, carbonated, and a noticeable hydrogen sulfide smell”: this was the most common sensory description of our participants about the Imperial Spring, the only drinkable mineral spring in Soos. The Imperial Spring is also the warmest spring in the Eger Basin. However, as it mixes with colder, gas-containing water on its way to the surface, its temperature at the spring outlet is only 17.5°C.

Karlovy Vary underground

Two German-language and two English-language guided tours through the Karlovy Vary underground beneath the Hot Spring Colonnade were certainly one of the highlights of our annual meeting.

The tour of the historic part of the Karlovy Vary underground showed us how traditional Karlovy Vary souvenirs, known as “stone roses,” are made. These roses are sintered naturally within a week through the separation of minerals. On display was a collection of sinter rock and sparkling stones, as well as old pipes from the beginning of the last century and rare, green-shimmering bacteria and algae that live on the surface washed by mineral water.

Our members also learned interesting facts about the Hot Spring Colonnade, its history, its unique underground structure, and, of course, the most famous Karlovy Vary spring – the Hot Spring (Vřídlo).

Karlovy Vary colonnades and springs

Karlovy Vary is famous for its magnificent colonnades and numerous mineral and healing springs. It’s easy to lose track of them all. That’s why we provided all participants with a booklet for orientation during the enjoyable walk. This booklet contains detailed descriptions of all the colonnades and freely accessible springs.

And to ensure that our members could enjoy the numerous healing waters, each participant received an original Karlovy Vary spa cup (with the WSU logo!).

Tasting Czech healing, mineral, and spring waters

Czechia offers a huge variety of healing, mineral, and spring waters! Some with extraordinary sensory characteristics! From metallic to salty to extremely bitter varieties! An impressive experience for all water sommeliers! Many thanks to our Czech WSU member Jan Vokurka, who organized all the Czech waters for us! With the help of detailed fact sheets, participants were also able to learn about the underlying mineralization, history, and other special features of the springs. It was an extraordinary sensory experience!

Presentations Mineral Water CelebrationDay 2025

Lectures on all aspects of water are a valuable part of our Mineral Water Celebration Day! After all, one of our WSU goals is the further education of our members. We are particularly pleased that external experts and active WSU members have agreed to present interesting news from the world of water! We were able to present a total of four exciting lectures:

• Tomas Vylita “Mineral Waters of the Czech Massif”
• Lodovico die Gioia “Emerging Contaminants: a growing threat for drinking water”
• Diane Plattner “My Water Journey”
• Peter Schropp “The new supporting members of the WSU”

Many thanks to all the speakers for their active support!

Der Beitrag The 2025 Annual Meeting of the Water Sommelier Union in Karlovy Vary erschien zuerst auf Wassersommelier Union e.V..

In our WSU Water Roundtable online seminar, our board member and water sommelier Joachim Kuppert showed us how well-thought-out market planning with bestseller/worst seller analysis, optimal use of space, and clear customer guidance not only makes it easier for shoppers to find their way around, but also increases sales.

We learned how retailers and consumers alike benefit from easy refilling, better advice, and well-founded information on the subject of mineral water.

Der Beitrag Water back on the shelves erschien zuerst auf Wassersommelier Union e.V..

Angelika van der Vliet, Thomas Schindler, and Dr. Peter Schropp demonstrated the sensory diversity of natural mineral water to the numerous visitors at the trade fair. Of course, the discussions during the tastings were not only about the taste and mouthfeel of mineral water, but also about the quality of this extremely important resource. The commitment of the Quality Association for Organic Mineral Water and its affiliated organic mineral water springs to water and environmental protection is groundbreaking in this regard, as many activities for the careful, sustainable use of our most important foodstuff are initiated and supported.
It is absolutely essential to raise public awareness of the importance and vulnerability of water so that efforts can be made to preserve our water in excellent quality and sufficient quantity for future generations.

Der Beitrag Watersomeliers in action at the Biofach in Nuremberg erschien zuerst auf Wassersommelier Union e.V..

Der Beitrag Taiwanese WSU Meeting 2025 erschien zuerst auf Wassersommelier Union e.V..

Der Beitrag flow water new sustaining member erschien zuerst auf Wassersommelier Union e.V..

The Mineral Water Celebration Day is always an integral part of the annual meeting and took place after the general meeting.
After the mineral water darts, in which the participants were able to demonstrate their sensory abilities, a series of lectures followed with interesting current topics from the (mineral) water sector:

In his lecture, Dr Peter Schropp talked about the new trend of ‘alkaline water’. In Asia and America, many suppliers promote both natural and artificially produced water with the slogan ‘alkaline’, associating it with numerous health benefits. Peter also addressed the term ‘alkalinity’ and explained why, although some suppliers claim it is the same, alkalinity has nothing to do with the pH value of water. With the help of analyses he carried out on numerous types of water, he was able to prove this statement and show that a high level of alkalinity in natural water must always be accompanied by a high concentration of hydrogen carbonates or carbonates.

Microorganisms in food are usually viewed negatively. But is this necessarily the case? In his lecture “Living Waters”, Dr. Paul Jacob focussed on ‘positive’ microflora, which can also occur in water.These resilient beings adapt to an oligothrophic existence, where nutrients are scarce and organic matter is a rarity. Numerous scientific studies were presented in this context. Perhaps it will one day even be possible to determine the origin of a mineral water with the help of this positive flora. A very exiting presentation and for all Water Sommeliers a new perspective on water!

Finally Jörg Berger reported on the possibilities of “Water Design”. Water with customised mineralisation is very much in vogue, and the demand for individual flavours and functional additives with health-promoting effect is also increasing. The technology offers the opportunity to create customised water for defined target groups, particularly in countries where there is no natural underground water. Jörg explained the sophisticated technology developed by KRONES in a clear and vivid way and showed some examples from Asia and the Middle East, where this technology has been successfully implemented.

Last but not least, Peter Schropp addressed the current topic of Micro- and Nanoplastics. Many consumers are concerned about the high amount of microplastic particles in bottled water reported in the press. Compared to tyre abrasion and other sources, the contamination in bottled water is extremely low. Peter was also able to show that the analysis is still very complex and not comparable. Therefore, these press reports must always be viewed with caution. The health effects have also not yet been sufficiently researched.

A great lecture programme for all water enthusiasts! Many thanks to all the speakers for these extremely interesting presentations!
The Watersommelier Union is already looking forward to the meeting in 2025!

Der Beitrag Day 2 of the annual meeting of the Water Sommelier Union! erschien zuerst auf Wassersommelier Union e.V..