The Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting is the longest-running water tasting competition in the world. At its 36th edition, on 21 February 2026 in West Virginia, San Graziano Frizzante won the Sparkling Water category.
What surprised us is not so much first place as the context: more than a hundred waters from five continents were entered — 14 countries, 17 US states and two Canadian provinces — judged by a panel of ten experts. And it was San Graziano's first entry.
The panel judges blind. No label, no story, no brand: only what is in the glass. The citation mentioned the persistent carbonation and its perfect integration with the mineral profile.
Behind San Graziano is Fava Bibite, making drinks since 1955. “The gold medal is an important milestone, all the more so reached just two years after San Graziano was launched,” said founder Davide Fava.
A water low in minerals and sodium, naturally alkaline at pH 8, which passes through sixty-five years of dolomitic glacial rock before emerging at 300 metres above sea level, in the Groane park above Lake Como. The same characteristics that make it the base of every Graziano's reference.
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Awards
San Graziano Frizzante takes gold in Guangzhou too
Gold Medal at the 11th Guangzhou International Water Tasting Competition, before a panel of international water sommeliers. It is the second gold of 2026, after Berkeley Springs.
The brand
From Imperdibili to Graziano's: the brand is born
On 1 May 2026 the range of mixers and mocktails changed its name and its identity. The recipes stayed exactly as they were: what changed is the way they are told.