Italy and France have been long-term rivals in art, culture, natural beauty, and food and wine for centuries. France is famous for fancy degustations; Italy their scampagnata. Italy flaunts Versace and Valentino; France struts Chanel and Dior. France hosts with the suaveness of Paris; Italy the treasures of Rome. Italy pours Chianti; France its Bordeaux. Then there’s football, but we won’t get into that.
What’s less discussed are the sparkling waters that naturally filter through their native rock beds and spring up through medieval fountains. There’s some glaring competition there too.
The Italian Variety glass bottled water brands
Italy’s sparkling water favorites are Lurisia Alu Bolle, Rocchetta Brio Blu, and S. Pellegrino.
Bolle is sourced from Mount Pigna at 1,460 meters in the western part of Liguria by Genoa. Emerging from the Pini spring, it’s as pure and light as water can get. With a fixed residue among the lowest in Europe, it’s naturally designed to suit any dish. Rochetta is Italy’s top selling carbonated water. It’s sourced from the quaint town of Gualdo Tadino in Umbria along the Apennine Range, a series of green mountains that form the backbone of Italy. Lastly, about forty miles east of glorious Lake Como lies the source of Italy’s most famous water, S. Pellegrino. When Da Vinci visited the town in 1509, the water inspired him to write a treatise on water, and it’s found that today’s samples show little difference from samples taken in 1782. Sourced for six hundred years, S. Pellegrino has a taste that is almost exactly the same for centuries.
The French Variety
On the French side, we have Badoit, Saint Geron, and Perrier, three of France’s sparkling favorites.
Bottled since 1778, Badoit is sourced in the health resort of Saint-Galmier that lies between the Lyonnais and Forez mountains. Flowing through granite rocks and subterranean gas deposits, it becomes naturally carbonated along its way. Saint Geron comes from the Auvergne region. It’s also naturally sparkling as it slides along a thousand mile journey through rock formations along the Alps. Like Badoit, it’s thought to have healthful effects that aid digestion, anemia, and even diabetes. Lastly, Perrier Water is sourced from the spring which bears its very name. Originally known as Les Bouillens, it was fashioned as an ancient Roman spa and has been bottled for 150 years.
The introductions have been made. Now settle down at the table, pour a taste, and proclaim your sparkling favorite. Our Italian and French varieties are always in stock, always sparkling, and always delicious. As you’ll see, the classic rivalry between the two cultures also points to delicious similarities, and they’re just as tantalizing.
