Can Water Sommeliers Convince Us to Pay More for Premium H2O?

To many people, water is just water — a drink necessary for survival. To Lodovico Di Gioia, it’s much more.

The native of Italy works as a water sommelier at Danone SA, a major bottler of mineral water whose brands include Evian, Volvic and Badoit. Much like a connoisseur of fine wines, Di Gioia has a trained palette, but his is attuned to the subtle but distinctive tastes and textures of H₂O.