Water may not be considered a fancy or exotic beverage to most, but that doesn’t mean it’s flavorless or boring. That’s the mantra of Martin Riese, a “water sommelier” at Ray’s & Stark Bar in Los Angeles, located in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
He helps guests pair water with their meal like sommeliers do with wine, which is not a common profession in L.A. or anywhere else. On his website, Riese advertises himself as “America’s only water sommelier.”
Even as a young child, Riese had a strong affinity for water. When he was as young as 4, he made a point of sampling the local tap water when he would travel to other countries with his family on vacation.
His delicate palette made him able to discern subtle differences in the water’s taste, created by TDS or total dissolved solids. These dissolved solids come from the minerals that seep into the water as it filters through the earth. Water that tastes “hard” has more TDS than milder-tasting water, which has either been purified or hasn’t come into contact with as many minerals
Originally from Germany, he became certified as a water expert by the German Mineral Water Trade Association, and in 2009, he wrote a book in German called “Die Welt des Wassers,” which translates to “The World of Water.” After establishing a name for himself in his homeland, he came to Los Angeles in 2011 to continue his passion.
He has curated a menu of some 20 waters at Ray’s & Stark Bar, ranging from $8 to $20 a bottle depending on the water’s scarcity and the bottle it comes in. In all, 10 countries are represented on the menu.
One of those waters, Beverly Hills 90H20, is Riese’s own. It is spring water bottled from the mountains in northern California, the menu says, and in 2013 was named the winner of FoodBev Media’s Innovative Beverage award in the water category.
Ray’s & Stark Bar’s water menu gives two scales by which to measure the flavor of each water, a “sweet” to “salty” scale and a “smooth” to “complex” scale. It also lists the percentages of calcium, magnesium, and sodium in the water.
Besides working at the restaurant, Riese offers water tastings, which are reportedly gaining momentum.
To many though, it remains a trivial pursuit. Riese told Vice that when he first started doing the tastings in L.A., he received hate mail telling him to go back to Germany. He is used to people rolling their eyes and saying “Only in L.A. …” but said he’s not about to argue with anyone who wants to drink tap water. He does hope people will leave his tastings with a new appreciation for the subtle flavors water has though.
“Overall, I give water the value it deserves,” Riese wrote on Eater. “We all should drink water daily, stop wasting it, and honor it for what it is: an item of worth. Let’s change the way we view water on a global level through understanding and respect,” he said.
