Very nice water it was too, soft and limpid, the stablemate of the sparkling S. Pellegrino from the Dolomites in northern Italy. Aqua Panna retails for $4.50 a litre.
It seems unnecessary to send heavy glass bottles of water halfway round the world, when there are very good waters here.
I did a blind tasting of Dunedin tap water, filtered water and the Aqua Panna. The Dunedin tap water was definitely recognisable with its chlorination and not to be recommended, but the filtered water was soft and limpid. So was the Aqua Panna.
Incidentally, with the case of water came a book on which of the two waters, Aqua Panna or S. Pellegrino, to match with the wine or spirits you are drinking.
Certainly, I agree that you need good water, but a good water filter cleans up the tap water and, if you do feel you need to buy some, there are many New Zealand mineral waters, including some local ones from Central, which will save many food miles.
There's also Speight's water available from the brewery tap in Rattray St, which I find a tad salty for drinking with wine or whisky. But if you are in Christchurch, drink deeply and fill your bottles with the wonderful tap water that comes straight from aquifers.
