KEY POINTS:
The pricey drop from Waiwera goes perfectly with venison or pork loin, while one connoisseur called the flavour of 42 Below's version"slightly flint".
We're not talking wine or vodka, but water.
H20 afficionados are a growing breed and the race is on to cater to their refined palates.
Flash restaurants and hotels in LA, New York and London are launching expansive and expensive water menus suggesting the best matches for particular meals.
And what is believed to be New Zealand's only dedicated water deli says the market is meeting orders from around the world.
Sydney's Four Seasons Hotel has a 20-brand water menu, with New Zealand's 420 Volcanic the priciest option at more than A$100 ($127.37) a litre.
A spokesman said the menu allowed patrons to sample water's "complexities" as they would wine - but without the nasty hangover.
And Kiwi connoisseurs may not have to wait too long before a water sommelier is available here.
Restaurant staff at some of Auckland's ritziest hotels revealed water menus were being considered - although none spoken to currently offered more than two varieties.
Alan Voong, manager of Partington's at The Langham, said the restaurant was "closely watching" developments overseas.
While most Kiwi diners were happy with tapwater - "the quality is good here" - overseas guests often preferred the bottled variety and were happy to pay for it.
Prices vary, with a litre of Waiwera costing $8.50 at Partington's and a bottle of "light artesian" Antipodes water from the Bay of Plenty going for $13 at White, at the Hilton.
If that seems extravagant, consider the Cristal of bottled water: Blingh20, the preferred choice of Paris Hilton's chihuahua.
It costs A$85 a pop, the price is pushed sky-high by its Swarovski crystal-studded bottle.
Auckland's Aquadeli sells nothing but bottled water, with the most expensive item Japan's Fine, retailing for a cool $9.30 per 720ml bottle.
Former liquor importer Mark Smith and his nutritionist partner Jo Grovski switched to water 18 months ago after spying a gap in the market.
The deli stocks more than 40 brands from more than a dozen countries.
While Smith's obsession might seem over the top to the uninitiated, he said each variant - including spring, mineral, sparkling and still - had its own regional flavour.
Most New Zealand brands were classed as either "spring" or "artesian" and had a good reputation overseas.
Half of his business was online and, while yet to catch on here to the same extent, he said the water market was "going ballistic".
But the rise of the aquaholics has caused a stir in greener circles worried about wasted bottles and that's led to the Auckland-based Good Water Company using bottles made from plants.
Dan Smith, food and beverage manager for Queenstown's Crowne Plaza Hotel, said bottled water was sold in the restaurant but was not "pushed" by wait staff, due to concerns about the "environmental impact".
Meanwhile, 420 Volcanic hoped it could move to "fully recyclable product" in the future.
The taste test:
We asked six people to taste five unmarked glasses of water and guess which was from the tap.
Four guessed correctly, one picked a Canadian product made from icebergs and the other chose the most expensive item, Japan's Fine. Aquadeli owner Mark Smith said three factors made up a water's "taste profile", its carbonation, mineral content and pH level. Former Black Cap Dion Nash, of 42 Below's 420 Volcanic Spring Water, doesn't claim to be a water connoisseur.
He says he'd struggle to identify water brands in a blind test but reckoned 420 had a "slightly different taste from North Island waters". The brand, which sells in top London hotel Claridge's, was designed for the American barhopper.
More than 60 per cent of its output is shipped overseas to Asia, Europe, Australia and America.
