The Hungarian Queen Maria (1505-1558) granted great privileges to the Burgenland winegrowers. In 1524, the people of Rust received their own trademark "R" with a letter and seal, which used to be branded on all wine barrels. This was Mary's thanks to the village, because according to legend she was saved by a Rust winegrower when she was in distress on Lake Neusiedl during a boat trip caused by a storm. Even today, the "R" is still included on most bottle corks. In 1681, the citizens of Rust bought from Emperor Leopold I. (1640-1705) the elevation as a "free town" with 60,000 gulden and 500 buckets of the noble sweet white wine Ruster Ausbruch. This was not a bribe, however, but common practice at the time. Already at this time Ruster wine was exported to Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia and Poland. The ruler Maria Theresa (1717-1780) appreciated not only Hungarian Tokay but also Rust wine and was a guest here in 1760. After the First World War, Burgenland and with it Rust became part of Austria in 1921.
The vineyards used to belong to the former wine-growing region of Neusiedlersee-Hügelland. In 2016, a restructuring of Burgenland's wine-growing areas took place, in which Neusiedlersee-Hügelland was abandoned and replaced (not congruently) by the new Leithaberg wine-growing area. For the time being, Rust did not participate in the DAC system and marketed its wines under the Burgenland origin. Since the 2020 vintage, Rust vintners have been allowed to market dry red wines made from Blaufränkisch, as well as white wines made from Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Neuburger and Grüner Veltliner, or cuvées made from these four grape varieties that comply with the DAC regulations, as Leithaberg DAC.
The vegetation is strongly influenced by the approximately 300 km² large, climate-regulating Lake Neusiedl. The average temperature of 23 °C is among the highest in Central Europe, which favours red wine production. Climatic conditions similar to those in Tokaj (Hungary) promote the formation of botrytis and thus sweet wine production. The vineyard area is about 400 hectares, cultivated by about 50 winegrowers. Well-known vineyards are Alter Umriss, Bandkräftn, Geyer, Gertberg, Gillesberg, Gmärk, Greiner, Hoher Baumgarten, Kraxner, Mariental, Oberer Wald, Plachen, Rieglband, Ritter, Turner and Vogelsang.
The white wine varieties are Welschriesling, Pinot Blanc (Pinot Gris), Neuburger, Chardonnay, Traminer or Gewürztraminer and Furmint. The red wine varieties are Blaufränkisch, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zweigelt. Since 1991, the town of Rust has been home to the Austrian Wine Academy, where students can train to become wine academics. The winegrowers' association Cercle Ruster Ausbruch strives to maintain the reputation of the world-famous noble sweet speciality. Well-known wineries are Bachkönig, Elfenhof, Esterházy, Feiler-Artinger, Giefing Erich, Hammer Markus, Kraft Harald, Schandl Peter, Scheiblhofer, Schröck Heidi, Seiler Georg, Triebaumer Ernst, Triebaumer Günter and Wenzel Robert.
Picture top left: By Jacquesverlaeken - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Picture top right: By DanielZanetti - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Picture below: © ÖWM - Armin Faber
