The Fine Water Society was originally founded in 2008 by Jan Bender of Iskilde, FineWaters’ Michael Mascha, and Steve Rowe of Wawali.
A select group of the top 50 premium water producers, distributors and sommeliers were invited to the first Fine Water Society Summit in Barcelona because of their commitment to quality, all passionate water authorities with a pursuit of excellence. The commitment of the group was to share knowledge and raise awareness of the fine water category and to have it accepted on the table as a beverage on a par with wine.
The group left Barcelona in 2008 with the Fine Water Society mantra of ‘Water isn’t Water’.
The group next met in 2009 in Istanbul when environmental issues regarding bottled water was high on the agenda. This meeting was held in conjunction with the Global Bottled Water Congress and confirmed to the Fine Water Society group that this smaller group of likeminded individuals had different issues, challenges and goals from the multinational and global producers.
The third Fine Water Summit was held in Vidago, Portugal, in March 2011. The momentum generated since its inception in Barcelona led to the Fine Water Society deciding to formalise the group.
After many separate conversations, the group concluded that, if small producers and distributors combine efforts and resources in a portfolio approach, the awareness of the ‘fine water category’ could be raised significantly.
The overwhelming consensus of the survey conducted after the Summit in Vidago was that there was a need to take the next step and formalise the society. The following structure will form the basis of The Fine Water Society:
What defines a fine water?
There will be three levels of membership:
Source: The Fine Water Society
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