Drive along any back road in the Girona region and you are almost sure to find lorries loaded with water, bearing the logos of well-known bottled water brands. Whether you are on the plain or up in the mountains. Thousands of years of natural filtering and mineral purity. In Les Salines, at Cap de Creus, in Les Guilleries, in Les Gavarres, in the Pyrenees or in the extensive volcanic area that stretches from La Selva and Gironès to La Garrotxa, where the volcanoes have become a natural park. Many of the springs have attracted interest for their mineralised medicinal virtues, and spas, health resorts and bottling plants have sprung up around them. Others are still largely secret, appearing on maps as sparkling springs, sulphurous springs, or hot springs.
This land boasts both sparkling and still waters. “Naturally carbonated” and “carbonated”, as stated on the labels. Water to quench your thirst, cool, neat or with a squeeze of lemon or a dash of good vinegar, particularly the carbonated kind. Or for brewing teas and infusions without altering any of the organoleptic properties of the herbs or coffee, and for cooking broths, fumet stocks, rice and plats de cullera (dishes you eat with a spoon).
Water with the 2020-2021 Girona Excel·lent seal
Aigua de Salenys – Naturally sparkling mineral water
In 1823, after the discovery of the spring in the centre of Les Gavarres, close to Vall d’Aro, the commercialisation of Aigua de Salenys began. Throughout the 19th century, this highly mineralised water with a low sodium content was distributed in barrels. In 1902, they started to package it in glass bottles, as it retained its natural gas better.
Company: Aigua de Salenys, SL
Font Vella – Natural mineral water
Les Guilleries is a mountainous area rich in springs in the La Selva area, where, in Sant Hilari Sacalm, the Font Vella spring is the most notable. It gives its name to one of the brands of natural mineral water with the weakest mineralisation, most suitable for low-sodium diets. Its alkaline mineral composition means it is organoleptically fresh tasting, refreshing and very light.
Company: Aguas Danone, SA
El jurat del tast d’aigües.
Anna Vicens
Presidenta de l’Associació Catalana de Sommeliers
Lluís Coll
Professor de l’Escola d’Hostaleria i Turisme de Girona
Àlex Carlos
Sommelier d’El Celler de Can Roca, de Girona
Clara Antúnez
Barista i sommelier Assessora de La Gastronòmica
Manel Guirado
Professor i periodista gastronòmic