Water at £19 a bottle (‘You’re either going to be a pioneer or a joke’, 28 August)(Meet the water sommeliers: they believe H₂O can rival wine – but would you pay £19 a bottle?, 28 August)? What a load of rubbish. Far better to order a free glass of tap water. At an Open University summer school some years ago, students were invited to take part in a trial. All were given 10 lots of two samples, Nottingham tap water and Highland Spring. There were enough participants over the weeks for a statistical sample. Answer? They could not tell the difference. Incidentally, licensed premises are obliged to provide free tap water on request. Refusing to do would be a breach of their licence condition.
Rosalind Clayton
London
Perhaps Joe Rawlins and Gaëlle Radigon, the owners of La Popote restaurant, could consider putting tap water on the menu as “Corporation Pop”, as we called it when I was a child in Manchester. If you wanted it fizzy, just shake it. The omission of Buxton water from their list is a crime.
Chris Walters
Buxton, Derbyshire
As a non-drinker, I can readily tell between my Vichy Catalan (my favourite) and my Badoit green bottle or Badoit red bottle (second favourite), all naturally carbonated. Would I pay £19 for a bottle of water I haven’t yet tried? 100%. What’s the difference between this and a fermented grape or a distilled grain? Those who don’t drink alcohol need more of this. Water is not simply just water. And what’s more, it’s good for you.
Siân Miller
Guildford, Surrey
Simon Usborne enjoys a water menu at a Cheshire restaurant, but sampling craft water is nothing new. In 1874, Karl Marx was in Karlsbad – still known for its artisan waters – to imbibe spring waters for health reasons. Marx, who liked a pilsner beer, was rather grumpy about it, writing to Engels on 18 September 1874 that drinking the water made him irritable.
Keith Flett
Tottenham, London
Betteridge’s law of headlines states that if it ends with a question mark, the answer is almost always “no”. The headline on the front cover of last Thursday’s G2 print section is a prime example: “They believe H2O can rival wine – but would you pay £19 for a bottle?”
Nick Swallow
Worminghall, Buckinghamshire
