The name of this village fits into four letters, but its history goes back to the Roman legions. Rigodulum: that's what the historian Tacitus called the site where, in the year 70, Rome's troops fought the Treveri on the heights above the river. Two thousand years later, Riol peacefully lines up its winegrowers' houses between the water and the slopes, about a dozen kilometres downstream from Trier, on the aptly named Roman Wine Road.

At the origins of Moselle winemaking

River cruise boats stop at the foot of the houses, on a bank where life has always revolved around two activities: the vine and the passage of travellers. A few streets are enough to tour Riol, but they tell a lot, between flower-filled courtyards, old presses and vaulted cellars whose doors open in the warm season. St. Martin's Church stands on ancient foundations, and its Romanesque bell tower watches over lanes where dated courtyard gates recall generations of winegrowing families. On the slopes of the Römerberg, the local vineyard, rows of Riesling climb the south-facing hillside.

Walking in the vineyards

Marked trails set off from the last lanes toward the top of the vineyard. The climb takes a bit of breath, but the reward comes quickly: the valley unfolds its meanders, the river shines between the slopes and the neighbouring villages of Longuich and Mehring share the banks. On the way back, several family estates open their courtyards for a tasting when passengers are in port; in June, the wine festival weekends turn the main street into one long table. Riesling dominates, along with a few more discreet white varieties, and the winegrowers love to explain what the slate and exposure of the Römerberg give their bottles.

The Roman villas

The Trier region preserves an exceptional ancient heritage, and the immediate surroundings of Riol offer two accessible examples. In Longuich, about two kilometres away along the riverside path, a partially reconstructed Roman villa recreates the baths of a large ancient farming estate. In the neighbouring village of Mehring, another villa rustica has been rebuilt with its colonnades. Cyclists happily link the two sites via the valley cycle path, one of the most pleasant in Germany.

Triolago, the Moselle's leisure side

Behind the last houses, a lake has become a leisure park: swimming in summer, a water-ski cable for wakeboard enthusiasts, a rail toboggan that races down the slope in every season and mini golf for families. The spot draws residents from all over the valley in fine weather and gives the port call an unexpected face, more beach than vineyard.

Practical pointers

• A compact village: church, winegrowers' lanes and trailheads a few minutes from the water's edge.
• Longuich Roman villa: about 2 km on foot or by bike along the bank.
• Trier, about a dozen kilometres away, on an organized excursion: the Porta Nigra, amphitheatre and cathedral form one of the largest Roman ensembles north of the Alps.
• Tastings at winegrowers': ask on board, as hospitality depends on availability.

Wine, river and time

Riol belongs to the category of small Moselle port calls where nothing seems to have changed in a hurry since the Romans: the same slope is cultivated, the same river is crossed, and the wine tastes like the landscape. As the boat casts off, passengers take away the name of an ancient battle, the memory of a crisp Riesling and the silhouette of a Romanesque bell tower among the vines. It's little and it's a lot: it's the Moselle.