Aleks mineral waters, Svaliava

Svaliava mineral waters from Aleks

Aleks is a Svaliava mineral-water producer founded in 1995. It was one of the first companies in Ukraine to bottle natural mineral waters in PET bottles, and today it produces several well-known Transcarpathian waters — from the medicinal table water Poliana Kvasova-8 to the table water Vershyna. The brand is listed among Transcarpathia's craft producers on the region's official tourism portal. Its wells lie away from villages in the wooded hills around Svaliava, while the plant itself is on Mashkina Street in Svaliava.

Why look for these waters and where to buy

Plant tours are not confirmed, so Aleks is more a reason to understand why the Svaliava area is called mineral-water country. The brand's waters can be found in grocery shops and pharmacies, including far beyond Zakarpattia, so picking up a bottle for the road is easy. To feel the difference between bottled water and water straight from the spring, combine your purchase with a trip to the Poliana or Soimy spas, which have pump rooms. Wholesale buyers and businesses can contact the sales department.

What to try

• Poliana Kvasova-8 — a medicinal table sodium-bicarbonate boric water with the highest mineralisation of the brand's waters, drawn from three wells of the Poliana deposit.
• Poliana Kupel-5 and Luzhanska — medicinal table waters of the Svaliava area.
• Shayanska — a medicinal table water.
• Vershyna — a natural table water, sparkling and still, for everyday drinking.

Medicinal table waters are taken in courses on a doctor's advice; the label states which well the water comes from. The history of these springs spans half a millennium: healing waters near Svaliava are mentioned in charters of the Hungarian king as early as 1463. In the early 19th century Svaliava water was already shipped to Vienna and Paris as a refined table drink; in 1855 it won a gold diploma at an exhibition in Paris, and in 1892 the Poliana spa was founded with its first bottling plant. Bottled waters of the Poliana deposit have been known since 1840.

Today the water is filled on two PET lines made in Austria and Italy and a glass line made in Hungary, in 1.5 l, 0.8 l and 0.5 l bottles. The company employs more than 100 people and runs an ISO quality system. It is this combination of historic deposits and modern bottling that makes Svaliava waters a visible part of Zakarpattia's food identity.

Practical information

• Address: 1 M. Mashkina St, Svaliava.
• Phones: +380313374195 (office), +380982811111 (sales), +380503723315; e-mail [email protected]; website alex.com.ua.
• Visits: plant tours and retail sales on site are not confirmed — please check by phone.
• Getting there: Svaliava lies on the M-06 road between Mukachevo and Volovets, about half an hour's drive from Mukachevo; the Lviv–Mukachevo railway runs through the town. The Poliana spa is a few kilometres from Svaliava and is served by minibuses.

Please confirm by phone before your trip.

Website and social media: alex.com.ua

Photos: alex.com.ua; zaxid.net.