Berkeley Springs, West Virginia: Soak It All In

Berkeley Springs, West Virginia: Soak It All In

For more than 250 years, Berkeley Springs, named for the natural healing mineral waters, has been a center for health and hospitality. Health seekers, George Washington among them, followed Native American tales and came to “take the waters” on the edge of the 18th-century frontier.

To celebrate the importance of water, in 1991, Berkeley Springs began hosting the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting. This event welcomes waters from 14 countries and states, from California to Florida, on Saturday, February 24, 2024. Held at The Country Inn in the historic spa town of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, it is the world's largest and longest-running water tasting, dubbed by BuzzFeed and The Week “the world’s most prestigious water tasting.”

More than 735 distinct waters have entered over the life of the event, coming from all over the United States and from as far away as Greece, New Zealand, Tajikistan, and Japan. Entries from 59 countries, DC, and all but three states have been represented since 1991.

"The impact of winning this event is extraordinary for a bottler," said Jill Klein Rone, event producer. “Many have experienced exponential growth, others closed major deals, and almost all winners redesign their labels to display their winning medal.”

A distinguished panel of media judges determines the official winners, but there is a role for the public. All day Saturday, they taste water along with the judges. Most importantly, the public votes for the People's Choice Award for best packaging. "How the product looks and grabs attention has become ever more important as the bottled water industry continues to grow," said Klein Rone. "There are well over 600 brands of bottled water."

"The real excitement for the audience comes at the conclusion," she explained. "Once the awards are presented, we stage the now world-famous 'water rush,' where folks scramble to take home some of the hundreds of bottles of water that have been used for display."

The “water rush" was highlighted by cable television's Games Across America. Watermaster Arthur von Wiesenberger, noted expert and author from Santa Barbara, CA, trains the media judges and directs the challenge of evaluating a product where tastelessness is the most sought-after quality.

Dubbed the “granddaddy of water tastings” by von Wiesenberger, this unique event is produced by Travel Berkeley Springs.

Judges include representatives from the Insider’s Guide to Spas, WV Public Broadcasting, DC News Now and ABC7-TV, Washington DC. Adding to the mix of coverage are journalists and freelance writers whose work appears in the Washington Post Smithsonian, and Woman’s World Magazines, among others.

On top of that, podcasters and bloggers come from all over to join in on the fun. The award-winning event was featured on a National Geographic Today television special and repeated documentaries, is a chapter in John Lingan’s book Homeplace, and has been named to various top event lists. It was voted runner-up for the Weirdest Festival in the Blue Ridge.

Celebrate Water— Berkeley Springs, WV. berkeleysprings.com