How to become a water sommelier: the courses, the skills and the job

The short answer: take a recognised course and pass its exams. The two best known are the Doemens Academy Water Sommelier course near Munich, ten days in person, and the Fine Water Academy Certified Water Sommelier course, online and self-paced. Before you pay for either, learn to taste water side by side and to read the label. That is most of the skill.

What a water sommelier does

The same job as a wine sommelier, with water: knowing the styles, building a water list for a restaurant or hotel, matching water to food and wine, training the team, and helping a guest choose. It suits people who already work with drinks: sommeliers, restaurant managers, people in the bottled-water trade.

The two certifications

Doemens graduates can join the Wassersommelier Union, a professional association founded in 2011. Its ordinary members are all Doemens-certified water sommeliers. Check current dates, language and fees on each school's own site: Doemens and Fine Water Academy.

What you will learn

• The types of water, and the law behind them. In the EU, natural mineral water must come from a protected underground source, keep its original purity and have a stable mineral make-up (Directive 2009/54/EC). In the US, the FDA allows the words mineral water only for water with at least 250 parts per million of total dissolved solids, from a protected underground source, with no minerals added. Spring water and table water are separate categories.
• TDS, total dissolved solids: the minerals left behind when water evaporates, in milligrams per litre. EU labels may say “very low mineral content” up to 50 mg/l and “rich in mineral salts” above 1,500 mg/l. US mineral water must say “low mineral content” below 500 ppm and “high mineral content” above 1,500 ppm.
• The minerals themselves: calcium, magnesium, sodium, bicarbonate, sulphate and chloride. Each one changes how a water feels and tastes.
• Bubbles: still, lightly sparkling or fully sparkling, and where the gas comes from. EU labels separate naturally carbonated water (the spring's own gas, at its natural level), water fortified with gas from the spring, and carbonated water (gas from elsewhere).
• Tasting: side by side, at the same temperature, in the same glass, with a structured note.
• Service: temperature, glassware, a water list, and water with food and wine.

How to start, step by step

• 1. Taste before you train. Buy five waters with very different TDS figures on the label, from very low to very high, still and sparkling. Taste them side by side at cellar temperature. Note the body, any salty or bitter edge, and the size of the bubbles.
• 2. Read the labels. Most natural mineral waters print their mineral analysis. Match what you taste to the numbers.
• 3. Choose your course. In person and immersive (Doemens) or online and flexible (Fine Water Academy).
• 4. Practise where you work. Write a short water list: a low-mineral still, a richer still, a lightly sparkling and a fully sparkling water. Explain each one to a guest in a single sentence.
• 5. Keep learning with others. After Doemens, that can mean the Wassersommelier Union.

Water at a wine table

Water sits next to every glass of wine, so every wine sommelier already serves it. A good default with fine wine: a still or softly sparkling water, low in minerals, served cool. It refreshes between sips without competing. Save the strongly mineral waters for tasting on their own, where you can enjoy what makes them different.

Is it worth it?

Be realistic: it is a small field. The Wassersommelier Union lists 253 full members from more than 25 countries (its own site, October 2026). As an extra skill on top of a hospitality or wine career, though, it is a real point of difference, and it trains your palate for subtle detail. If wine is your main path, see how to become a Certified Sommelier and what each sommelier level means.

Questions people ask