In the first of our new series on foods and drinks lovingly made by small-scale producers, Kevin Gould goes to the source of an Italian spring water that is as chic as it is pristine
Alessandro Invernizzi cups his hand, palm upwards, and waves tapered fingers to eloquently mimic something lighter than air, almost weightless. "So-o-ooo light," he coos. Tall, elegant and impeccable in Prada, 32-year-old Alessandro is rhapsodising about a clean, light mineral water called Lurisia. It is the purest in the world, he'll tell you, so unsullied by heavy minerals that a glass of Lurisia doesn't just enhance food, it exalts it.
Lurisia is one of the most respected Piedmontese waters, which says a lot about its quality: what Tuscany is to olive oil and Naples to tomato sauce, Piedmont is to water - every village has its own source, and the mountains teem with springs and waterfalls. This region of northern Italy is a place of medieval fortress villages that perch on rocky outcrops, overlooked by mist-shrouded mountains and sienna-washed churches that cling to the hillcrests like cardinals' skullcaps. It encompasses the industrial city of Turin, as well as such gastronomic centres as Alba (famous for its truffle market), Asti (home to such prestigious wines as barolo and barbaresco), and Monferrato, from whose paddies the finest arborio and carnaroli rice is harvested.
The Invernizzis, drinks wholesalers in Milan for four generations, moved to Lurisia only a few years ago. Alessandro, who runs the firm with his father Vittorio, fell in love with the plunging valleys, crystal-clean mountain air, and Alpine way of life. He especially came to love the snow that blankets the area from December to March. "After the snow melts," he says, "it percolates through the volcanic rock, revealing itself years later at our source." 'Source' doesn't sound nearly as good in English as Alessandro's carefully annunciated 'sorgente'.
Said sorgente surges into a underground grotto that was discovered in 1918 by Marie Curie. While she was searching for uranium down a rough tunnel deep in the heart of Mount Pigna, she instead found a spring that she praised as "a miracle of purity". Science has proved Mme Curie's instinct to be right. Lurisia has the lowest mineral levels of any Italian water, with only 37mg of dissolved minerals in every litre (to put this in context, San Pellegrino weighs in with 1,162mg per litre).
What this means in terms of flavour is that Lurisia doesn't cloud the tastebuds, so allowing the true taste of the food it accompanies to come through. As Alessandro says simply: "Lurisia doesn't drown the flavour of food." Those who prefer their water with bubbles are also provided for. The higher a water's mineral content, the more gas it retains after carbonisation, so Lurisia's purity means the sparkling version has a subtle, velvety fizz.
Indeed, such is the Invernizzis' obsession with purity that they've located the compact bottling plant slightly downhill and only a few steps away from the source, so the water never comes into contact with pumps. That this source produces enough water for only 40 million litres a year to be bottled (as opposed to a whopping four million a day of Evian) adds to the water's cachet.
This prestige is enhanced by the elegance of the bottle design. Lurisia retains its 1950s label, which was inspired by Gio Ponte, Italy's most influential postwar architect and designer, as well as its crown-capped, pressed-glass bottle, the brand stamped into each side. "Only transparent, neutral glass is good enough," insists Alessandro. "You can see that we have nothing to hide in our product." With its low mineral count and chic bottle, Lurisia is eminently fashionable in New York, where health-conscious restaurant diners drink more of Alessandro's labour of love than any other bottled water.
The Invernizzis' investment has also provided for a refurbishment of the spa buildings that adjoin the source. Here, hydrotherapy, inhalation and mud treatments take place in pristine marbled splendour, where patients are ministered to by kindly, pink-cheeked doctors with impossibly snowy hair. Spa patients are encouraged to immerse themselves in and to drink abundant quantities of Lurisia water as part of their regime - encouragement (if ever you needed it) to take the cure. Indeed, Alessandro is already honing his next slogan: 'Lurisia water: there's no more tasteful way to treat yourself.
Taking the waters
- Lurisia's impeccably neutral taste points up and somehow elaborates on subtle food and drink flavours, from sashimi to funghi, and veal to fine wine.
- Lurisia water is also a good drink for anybody on a low-sodium or
sodium-free diet. This includes those with high blood pressure and heart disease.
- Take advantage of Lurisia's clear, clean character by adding it to your favourite single malt whisky. This may sound like heresy to some, but Lurisia seems to draw out more of the whisky's flavour than more traditionally flavoured 'peaty' or 'soft' waters.
- Ice cubes made from Lurisia are not the mad extravagance they might at first appear. After all, your expensive liqueurs and elaborate cocktails deserve ice cubes made from the finest rock-filtered water.