The valleys of the Mosel River and its tributaries, the Saar and the Ruwer (pronounced Roo-vair), are the setting for some of Germany’s most beautiful and romantic wine country. From Perl, as the ‘three-country’ corner of France, Luxemburg and Germany, the Mosel flows for 242km (145 miles) to join the Rhine at Koblenz. Scores of wine-related artefacts and press houses unearthed throughout the region bear witness to 2,000 years of viticulture in the area. The Mosel, with about 9,000 ha of vines, is Germany’s fourth largest winegrowing region, predominantly planted with Riesling vines. In the Saar and Ruwer valleys, and from Trier to Koblenz, the Riesling grape and slatey soil team up to yield wines of incomparable delicacy, yet remarkable expression. These are fragrant white wines, rich in acidity and fruit flavours, often with a mineral undertone. The very finest gracefully age into sought-after rarities that fetch legendary prices at auction.