Suzanne Branciforte's Italian Grapevine

The big 50th Annual Vinitaly is about to begin, and this is my beverage of choice these days:

That great variety that is Italian wine – 440 varietals, more than 330 DOC wines, 74 DOCG – will be on display, and I am going to do my best to sip as many as I can (just kidding!)

But Italy also boasts an incredible variety of mineral waters, deserving of serious tasting. Why does it all come down to San Pellegrino, when there’s such a fabulous variety of waters to try? Just sitting here with nothing better to do, I came up with 15 and I wasn’t even trying! 

This was my random list off the top of my head: Levissima, Sant’Anna, San Benedetto, San Bernardo, Uliveto, Rocchetta, Panna, Verna, Aqua di Nepi, Lurisia, Fiuggi, Ferrarelle, Alpi Cozie, Vera, Lete, and the one you all know: San Pellegrino.

Some are regional: like you’ll find more Ferrarelle and Fiuggi in Rome and more Panna in Florence, and some are national – kind of like our newspapers.

Right now, I’m drinking this (you do always have a glass of water by your side, don’t you? It’s a good idea!):

And if you want to know why sodium is not good in your water, and why drinking mineral water is so important to digestion, take a look at Acqua Lete’s entertaining commercial. It’s one of those songs that you won’t get out of your head for the rest of the day! (Ma che cos’è?)

So when you want to order delicious mineral water, forget about that Perrier and Evian (only 2 brands for such a big country?), and buy Italian! Or when you come to il Bel Paese, take advantage of all the healthy effects the many different types of water can trigger.

Right now, though, I need to get some beauty rest… because in just two days, we head to Verona for the big event: VINITALY!