Leonardo Deoti is a renowned water sommelier from Brazil, known for his expertise in the selection and combination of mineral waters. With a passion for the art of water culture, he has led numerous training courses and workshops to raise awareness of the diversity of mineral waters. Deoti strives to reveal the unique characteristics of each water and show how these flavours can harmoniously complement dishes.
Exclusive Interview with Water Sommelier Leonardo Deoti from Brazil
Andreas Conrad: What criteria do you use to evaluate the quality and flavor of water?
Leonardo Deoti: Basically, 3 steps overall. Smell, visual and taste. Similar to wine tasting. We all know waters don’t smell (just a few distinguish waters do), but we can’t skip this step just to make sure. Visually, the appearance is very important, how it swirls in the glass, the consistency, how clear it is and I always pay attention to the reflex once you look through it. For last, and most important, taste it. Water has taste (flavor profile) and most of them are very subtle, which requires focus, concentration, practice to develop your palate and a pleasant environment to help you connect with the profoundness of the water and to be able to notice all the flavors and notes in it.
Andreas Conrad: Which glass are best suited for water tasting?
Leonardo Deoti: Stemware Crystal Glass period. If you can’t get ahold of one, stemware regular glass, or any other kind of glass, preferably high ball style, the thinner the better. For groups tastings I personally prefer the ISO Stemware glasses (recognized internationally as the standard design for tasting) for a few reasons: they are short, thin, has stemware, easier to swirl the water (mainly for beginners), easy to handle, faster to clean and doesn’t take much storage room. Now, for fine dining restaurants, definitely tall crystal stemware, because water needs to be showed as an important beverage, and can’t be just another glass on the table. It is as important as any wine, playing a huge role by providing an epicurean gastronomic experience.
Andreas Conrad: Are there certain regions or sources that are known for outstanding water and what makes them special?
Leonardo Deoti: There are several great regions around the Planet with distinguished water sources, but I would like to list 3 that I’m very familiar with it.
First, the water circuit situated in the south state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. It involves 5 towns with their specifically water parks and spas, 39 distinguished natural mineral sources, every single one of them with medicinal and healing properties, and a rich identity. It is a high destiny for those who are seeking for healing treatments with water properties, although I have to bring up my concern on how this area has not been treated with respect and it is not protected as it should be a long time ago. Its potential is one of a kind in the world, by having so many water sources in such a small area. Sao Lourenco, Caxambu, Cambuquira are the main water brands from this area.
Second, another Brazilian water circuit, this one is situated in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. It is composed of 9 towns but it is not as rich as the first one mentioned above, but certainly great and full of beautiful sources and a unique identity. Both regions are near the Mantiqueira Moutain’s complex, region also well-known for its coffee production and an outstanding high quality coffee bean, desired by coffee lovers from all over the world. Prata water is a well-known water brand from this area.
Third, the beautiful and small town called Nałęczów, near Lublin, situated in Poland. One of the oldest Polish health resorts specialized for over 200 years in cardiologic and cardiovascular problems located in the Kazimierski Landscape Park. The small area has several sources and it is protected as a nature reserve, named Nature 2000; right after Poland joined the EU in 2004. This is a great showcase on how vital is to respect and protect our water resources and how to live in harmony, without degrading and extracting more than it should. Cisowianka is the main local water source and polish brand, alongside with their premium product, the delicious Perlage Premium Water.
Now when it comes to a water sources, the list is long and we have many, many special waters all over the world, each one with their unique characteristics and history behind it. The more you taste, the more you get to know and learn, the more you fall in love with every single one of them.
Andreas Conrad: How do different types of water differ in terms of mineral content, pH and flavor profile?
Leonardo Deoti: The waters differ completely one from another. Every single water has its own identity. And this unique identity is built by its mineral content, which is a 100% heritage from its terroir (local geology, soil layers). These characteristics will provide the water their mineral composition, pH and consequently their flavor profile. It is all based on the terroir and how the water co-relates with it, how long it takes to do the water circle. Starting from the precipitation, then infiltration then finally rising as a spring, well or other natural source. These types of water sources will have more taste and presence on your palate compared to the glacial waters or iceberg ones for example, because those don’t get in touch with the soil layers to dissolve the minerals and absorb its nutrients, for an example.
Andreas Conrad: Can you tell us about the history and culture of water tasting and assessment?
Leonardo Deoti: I’m fairly new in the water business, although I’ve been working in the food & beverage industry for over 20 years. Therefore, there is so much to learn and mature as a water sommelier. But from what I could realize through my studies since I got my Sommelier’s certification, there is a lot of work to do to spread out the knowledge of water history, culture and assessment. Truthfully, most people don’t think about water, don’t engage with the beverage and everybody takes for granted that you will always have safe water available on your tap. Personally, I believe we have to rethink how we relate to the most precious natural resource we have available; we must respect and take care of it no matter how hard it is and we are already running behind by changing our daily habits. It is by far the most important beverage of our lives and we simply don’t have the water where it belongs, the #1 beverage, top shelf, therefore the most exclusive place. It is a priority and we as human beings are making a huge mistake by postponing this matter. Water should be one of our main subjects and the new generations have to grow already knowing that. That’s why I developed a school project where I teach and promote a flight water tasting with kids from 6 to 8 years old. My goal is to plant a seed into their mindset and show them how important is our water. Their reaction after the water tasting is priceless.
Andreas Conrad: What role does sustainability and environmental impact lay in the section of water sources for tasting?
Leonardo Deoti: Everything. As mentioned above, taking care of the water resources is automatically building up a sustainable relation in all aspects of the water industry. Presenting a sustainable water on a tasting epicurean experience is vital for its success. You can not bring up the product without clarifying what’s behind it and the hard work that involves on finding the source, having it ready for extraction, bottling it and selling it as a brand. The love and care for its natural resource has to be explicit to the customers and a proud matter for the water entrepreneurs.
Andreas Conrad: Are there any trends or developments in the world of water tasting that you find particularly interesting?
Leonardo Deoti: I believe the water sommelier class is finally starting to get the attention needed. Although there is a lot of work and dedication to be done by us, Michael Mascha, alongside with Martin Riese have done an amazing job so far, believing in it, investing in it and most of all being very persistent in the cause. As a former Chef, I believe that it is important for Chefs worldwide start to pay attention to water and open their kitchen doors for us Sommeliers and the premium waters. Also, FOH staff, need to learn ASAP on the importance of water, the epicurean experience water provides alongside with food and wine, or just with food. I personally believe water is the wine of the future, and soon or later it will conquer the tables and the taste of the food and wine lovers.
Other trends are definitely the coffee and tea, mainly. Water plays a big role in those beverage preparation and it is responsible for 98% of its composition. So, if you are using any water, you are making a huge mistake. For every coffee bean, or tea herb, there is a specific water that will match perfectly and provide a better final product, showing case how effectively if it is correctly applied to the product. The minerals of the water have to be understood for a better comprehension and better match for the other products, brewing or infusing it.
Spirits are also an area that need to start seeing water with different eyes. Water is not only part of their composition, but how to serve is important, and mainly, the kind of ice you apply to it will affect immediately on a taste and the quality of your product.
Cocktails and Mocktails are also another important trend that water is 100% related to it. Water will certainly affect the quality of your drink and how you can improve the aromas and final taste. Water is everything, we are water, therefore, we can no longer pretend water doesn’t play a big role in many areas of food and beverage, also health and fitness.
Andreas Conrad: How do regional differences in soil and climate affect the flavor and composition of water?
Leonardo Deoti: Affect 100%. Every geology has its own characteristics and every soil will provide a different mineral composition, properties and identity to the water. If you visualize the Planet Earth, all different regions out there, every single one of them has a different terroir with its specific geological characteristics. Some regions are 100% basaltic rock, other have over 8 different types of rocks mixed up or spread out in different layers, such as limestone, calcite, quartz and granite as an example. The climate influences as well, where in cold places you also get glaciers and icebergs, another 2 types of water sources, both providing waters in the super low and low minerality. Also, it will play a big role on the temperature the water is collected at the source. All this combined, will dictate the taste of the water and its unique identity.
Andreas Conrad: What methods do you use to taste and analyze water?
Leonardo Deoti: If I’m doing on my own, I have my stemware crystal glass, all waters around 13C/55F (the more precise the better), the waters are divided into 2 categories, still and sparkling, then I organize them by TDS Level, from the lowest to the highest. Always have my palate as ready as possible, by avoiding drinking aromatic beverages before such as coffee, alcohol, sodas; also avoid toothpaste flavor, gums, candy etc. The environment has to be quiet, as brighter as possible and preferably closer to nature. I also have my Water Tasting Sheet that I developed myself to check the topics and also write notes, personal impressions, paring suggestions. The TDS meter is always reachable in case some waters don’t provide the information on the label, or I have a local water source collected previously.
When I do group’s water tasting, besides all the above, I also do an educational introduction, briefly explaining about history, water cycle, geology, types of sources, consciousness, our relation towards the natural resource, some statistics and an introduction on how we do the flight water tasting, also providing them the water tasting sheet and time to discuss and open to questions in general ate the end.
Andreas Conrad: Can you tell us about the challenges and prejudices the water sommeliers face in the industry?
Leonardo Deoti: There are so many we can write a whole chapter about it. But trying to narrowing down as best I can, we face it quite a lot.
First, most people when you say you are a Water Sommelier, they looked at you as if you were an alien from another galaxy. Most people don’t have a clue about it, never heard about it, and worst, they thing this is something ridiculous. So having that conscious as a premise, we all have to break a barrier, climb a wall and spend quite some time explaining and lecturing so they can actually comprehend the importance and how beautiful is our role and our essence as professionals.
Secondly, the water industry (water brands, distributors, restaurants, hotels and so on) doesn’t have job position available for us, and in most cases, they are not really interested in having them. A lot of people you reach out to build up a partnership are very resistant and have a hard time to believe in the benefits of having a partner like us.
Thirdly, most people, and when I say that, almost 99.9% of the population don’t think about their water and when you bring the subject up, in several occasions some people got very uncomfortable, on the other hand, some people were very impressed about it. That’s the reason I came up with the #KnowYourWater, because when this concept is introduced, I challenge people to start thinking about their most vital beverage, their attitudes, their respect towards the resource, their consciousness and knowledge about something vital, and that leads them out of their comfort zone, making them thinking about their visceral essence.
Also, I believe we need to stick together as a fine, brilliant and unique class of water lovers, dedicated to help each other, grow together and make us strong so everybody realize the importance of the water. We are the ambassadors of this beautiful natural resource and it belongs to us the challenge to turn around this whole pre-existing wrong concept about water. To be united is vital for our survival!
Andreas Conrad: How would you describe the influence of packaging and presentation on the perception and evaluation of water?
Leonardo Deoti: Packaging and presentation definitely play a huge role on how you visualize and evaluate the waters. Premium waters have to offer the customers an epicurean experience, and that starts with its packaging and presentation. A fine, beautiful glass bottle, with a lot of work dedicated on the style, color, label and details complement when you bring up the history behind that water source. Both together, added to tasting experience itself, provides an unforgettable experience for the customer. They will come back as a regular customer, seeking for more knowledge and changing the way they talk, drink and think about water. In Brazil particularly, we have over 1205 natural water sources commercialized nowadays (data from 2017), huge potential to explore and to work. If I have 8 brands out of all these brands with glass bottles available to commercialize, it will be to much. All brands use PET 100%. I know this is another chapter, but I had to bring this up to show how much we Water Sommeliers have to stick together and create a huge positive water wave to change things and offer the customers better options. Water is life; therefore, we are water! Let’s embrace each other, learn from each other, and united we will conquer our goals faster and stronger.
