Water Reviews: Saint-Geron Mineral Water

Water: Saint-Geron

Type: sparkling mineral

Source: Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region, France

Rating: Five drops

Review: Saint-Geron is an afternoon mineral water. The "Queen of Table Waters." A water of day-dreams. The official water of good health and un-troubled minds. One sip alone may be enough to send you into a wistful, European trance. Combined with a steak frites and an espresso -- it cured me of my mini-hangover so well that I bought and drank a second bottle.

If you find a bottle, drink it. The very act alone will make you feel cool and European. Which, let's face it: Just about everything European makes you feel cool and, sometimes -- guess what -- drinking mineral water is more about feeling sophisticated than actually doing something "good for your body" or whatever. And I encourage you to try and feel sophisticated whenever possible. This water will do that. It also tastes really good.

This water doesn't have the work-a-day heavy carbonation of a Perrier, or the rugged, invigorating qualities of my favorite -- Mg Mivela -- but rather a mildly tonic quality mixed with a certain lightly acidic crispness. A delicacy. Not the kind of water to put in your back-pack for a train trip across Europe or a hike in the mountains. More the kind of thing you drink from tiny glasses, in small sips, in the afternoon, with a light lunch and high hopes for an intriguing evening, during which you have plans with a friend, an old friend, whom you hope will turn into something more but, at the same time, aren't letting yourself get too worked-up about. How can you get worked up about anything when you have a bottle of this dreamy, refined mineral water in front of you, begging you, forcing you to stay present in this moment...