You probably just watched someone drink water and genuinely lose their mind over it. That someone was Pat Eckert. And no — it's not a bit.
Pat is a certified water sommelier, the founder of Fine Liquids, and one of a small handful of people on this planet who has dedicated his professional life entirely to the world of water. Not wellness water. Not alkaline water hacks. Water — as in the real thing, from real sources, with real stories behind them.
Here's what that actually means.
The Archive: 3,500 Bottles, 4 Centuries, 100+ Countries
Somewhere in Meckesheim, a small town in southwestern Germany, there is a collection unlike anything else in the world.
Pat has spent years building what he calls the AQAPOLIS — a curated archive of over 3,500 water bottles from more than 100 countries, spanning four centuries of bottling history. The oldest pieces predate the industrial revolution. The rarest come from springs that no longer exist. Together they form the most comprehensive water bottle collection on the planet — currently in preparation for a move to Heidelberg and an official Guinness World Record attempt.
It is part museum, part research library, part obsession.
The name AQAPOLIS comes from the Latin aqua — water — and polis — city. A city of water. That's what Pat is building.
Berkeley Springs: The Academy Awards of Water
In February 2026, Pat traveled to Berkeley Springs, West Virginia — a town of fewer than 700 people that happens to host the world's oldest and most prestigious water competition: the 36th Annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting.
He came not just as a participant, but as an invited speaker and juror. He gave a keynote in English — his first public reading from his forthcoming book WE ARE WATER — and judged waters from around the world alongside an international panel.
The Berkeley Springs competition has been running since 1991. It has been called the Academy Awards of water. Pat is the first German water sommelier to speak there.
What a Water Sommelier Actually Does
The short version: the same thing a wine sommelier does, but for water.
The longer version: Pat evaluates the taste, texture, mineralization, and terroir of natural mineral waters. He advises Michelin-starred restaurants on their water menus. He trains chefs and sommeliers to understand why the water on a table matters as much as the wine. He runs tastings — live, virtual, corporate, private — across Europe and the UK. And he curates what he believes is the finest selection of premium mineral water available anywhere online.
His palate has been put to work at:
- Fine Water Society Taste & Design Awards — Athens 2023, San Sebastián 2024, Montréal 2026
- FoodBev Global Water Drinks Awards — Budapest 2025
- Fine Water Summit — Co-host alongside Dr. Michael Mascha, the world's leading water authority, 2024
- Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting — Speaker & juror, 2026
He is the official water sommelier partner of Selters, one of Germany's most historic mineral water brands, with documentation going back to 815 AD.
AQA FINELLI: His Water
In 2022, Pat didn't just taste other people's water anymore. He made his own.
AQA FINELLI is a hand-filled artesian spring water from the Taunus region of Germany — bottled in a Bordeaux glass bottle, carbonated by hand using a process Pat and his team spent 18 months perfecting. The result is a Gentle Fizz — a carbonation so fine it barely registers as bubbles, but transforms the mouthfeel completely.
In 2024, AQA FINELLI became the first German water brand ever to reach the finals of the Zenith Global Water Drinks Awards — placing it among the top 5 water brands in the world. It is now served in Michelin-starred restaurants across Europe.
The Book
In 2024, Pat published "Die Farben des Wassers — Rethink Water" (The Colors of Water), his first non-fiction book. 268 pages on the science, culture, history, and sensory world of water — written for readers who have never thought about water as something worth thinking about, and for those who already can't stop.
The book received a foreword by Martin Riese and Dr. Michael Mascha, the two leading water sommeliers in the United States.
A second book is in progress. Its working title: WE ARE WATER — The Drop Beyond — a project that, in collaboration with international artist Samuel Stubblefield, will involve sending a curated water drop to an asteroid. That sentence is real.
The Media Trail
Pat's work has been covered by:
The Guardian · The Telegraph · Der Spiegel · NZZ · L'Express (France) · La Vanguardia (Spain) · Daily Mail · Metro UK · Focus · ABC News · The Sun (US & UK) · Pro7 Galileo · SWR / ARD · BBC Radio · Channel 4 UK · RNF · Hessenschau
He has appeared on German national television, British breakfast TV, American network news, and French radio — all talking about water.
Fine Liquids: The Shop
Fine Liquids is Pat's online store, based in Meckesheim, Germany. It ships internationally and carries one of the most carefully selected ranges of premium mineral water available anywhere in the world — from everyday discoveries to genuine collector's items.
The selection is Pat's personal curation. Every water in the shop has been tasted, evaluated, and chosen by him. Not by an algorithm. Not by a distributor. By a person who has spent years building the vocabulary and the palate to know the difference.
If you're here because you watched a video and thought wait, water actually tastes different? — you're in the right place.
Start with ROI. Or ask Pat directly.
Pat Eckert is a certified water sommelier, founder of Fine Liquids UG, creator of the AQAPOLIS archive, and author of "Die Farben des Wassers." He is based in Meckesheim, Germany and works internationally.
📍 fine-liquids.com · info@fine-liquids.com · Instagram: @fine_liquids
