Physicochemical Parameters and Terroir Assessment of Mineral Water from Mount Smolikas in Greece: A Two-Year Study

Abstract

Every day, more and more consumers choose to drink bottled water instead of tap water, since they believe that it is superior in quality. One of the criteria used by European consumers to choose bottled water is the geographical region of the spring. The flavor of the water is an additional factor that influences consumers’ choices. As a result, determining the flavor of water is gaining popularity and is thus turning into a prominent field of study. However, studies on the potential environmental factors that affect the sensory characteristics of water (i.e., “terroir” of water) are limited. To this end, we investigated the composition of natural mineral water spring from Mount Smolikas in Greece over a two-year period to find any potential alterations in water composition. The physicochemical parameters (pH, conductivity, turbidity, color, and total hardness) of the water samples were examined, along with their content in metal ions, inorganic salts (cations and anions), and total organic carbon. Additionally, the water samples were analyzed for their content of off-odor volatile compounds (i.e., 2-methylisoborneol and geosmin) that can be naturally found in water. The study also examined the correlation of climate conditions (accumulated rainfall and mean temperature) with the parameters above using a principal component analysis and a multivariate correlation analysis. The results showed that the physicochemical characteristics of water samples complied with European regulations. Metals, anions, and cations were all below the corresponding parametric values established by the European Commission. The off-odor organic compounds, 2-methylisoborneol, and geosmin, had average concentrations of 9.4 and 2.7 ng/L, respectively. Chromium and aluminum elevated concentrations might be attributed to specific ores present near the water source, while pH, conductivity, total hardness, nitrates, and off-odor compounds levels could be fluctuated due to local climate conditions. The study revealed a good positive correlation (>0.7) between the quantity of rainfall and the level of potassium cations. Moreover, a strong negative correlation (>0.9) was observed between magnesium cations and the mean temperature of the local area. The study can be used as a benchmark for future studies to determine the terroir of mineral water.