Water with the Wine
Our editor at large Marjan Ippel went back to the source. A water source, that is. Chaudfontaine’s, to be precise, also Belgium’s only hot-water spring. A water sommelier taught her there how to taste spring water with food and wine. Because water isn’t boring.
Water sommelier Roland Vanden Abbeele is certain of it. Water with food is seriously underrated. Even though it pairs perfectly well. Obvious, you might think: water tastes like nothing, so it goes with everything.
Terroir
Wrong. If you taste carefully, water does indeed have flavour. Flavour that, just like with wine, is caused by the terroir (in other words, the influence of the soil). Vanden Abbeele: ‘A limestone-rich soil gives a subtle limestone flavour, an iron-rich one a distinctive flavour, and minerals in the soil provide salty notes. Lightly mineralised waters are the most neutral; they ensure that the other flavours are experienced more intensely.’
That is why tea sommeliers swear by water that is as neutral as possible, so as not to create interference in the flavour of the tea. It all has to do with the dry residue: what remains of the minerals when you evaporate the water. The higher the dry residue, the more distinctive the flavour of the water.
Tea sommeliers swear by water with the most neutral flavour possible.
For the water sommelier, it does not have to be so neutral, although that depends on what you serve the water with, at what serving temperature and with or without bubbles. The larger the carbon dioxide bubbles, for example, the more we experience the flavour of the water as acidic, and the better it pairs with crustaceans and shellfish or fish. Just like lemon and a fresh, dry white wine.
Fizz
For subtle dishes, Vanden Abbeele recommends water with a small fizz that gently lifts the flavours. To be clear: not instead of a glass of wine, but alongside it.
He also recommends not drinking the water ice-cold, but rather at room temperature. Not only is that much more sustainable than chilled water, it also allows you to taste the true flavour better.
Metallic
Water without too much lime, iron or minerals can accompany the entire meal, from the starter to the coffee afterwards. But we already suspected as much.
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