Greece proved a big winner earlier in the week at the third edition of the Gourmet Waters International Contest AVPA — Paris 2019, taking gold medals in the “balanced still water” and “still water of character” categories.
For the last three years, France’s Agency for the Valorisation of Agricultural Products (AVPA) has organized a contest to crown the world’s best still and sparkling waters.
Brands are invited to enter their products into the contest, in which waters are grouped into six categories — three for sparkling and three for still. Their mineral content is analyzed to establish in advance whether the waters are classed as “light”, “balanced” or “of character.”
The last category is for waters having the highest mineral levels, which give the products a stronger or more unusual taste.
A total of seventy waters were featured in this year’s contest, hailing from around twenty different countries around the globe.
Greece’s products proved particularly popular with the judging panel in the still water categories. The panels were comprised of food industry professionals and gourmets who sampled the waters in a blind test.
A total of three Greek brands won gold medals in the prestigious contest. Produced in the country’s Thessaly region, “Theoni” was crowned the best “balanced still water,” while “Athos Clear” and “Zeus of Olympus” shared first place in the “still waters of character” category.
Romania took two gold medals in the sparkling categories, with “Azuga” winning in the “light” category and “Aqua Carpatica” coming out on top of all the “balanced” waters. The best “sparkling water of character” was France’s “Châteldon.”