The small gem of a town called Rust has had many rulers, some good, some indifferent, most of them bad. It has been ruled by Turks, Magyars and Germans. It was part of the Austo-Hungarian empire until its demise in 1918, when it became, briefly, Hungarian before ethnic sanity prevailed and it returned to Austria.
Hungary is just across the shallow waters of the Neusiedlersee, a lake about as large as the water trapped behind Plover Cove dam.
The strong Hungarian links remain, not least in the sauvignon blanc produced by Kurt Feiler of Feiler-Artinger winery in Rust. Smell this truly elegant white and you get a sniff of spicy pepper. I did not believe this until I stuck my nose deep in a glass.
Sure enough, there was the whisper of strong red pepper in the white wine.
Strange place, Rust, and much of the lore of the attractive land is linked with wine. In 1681, the multi-ethnic community wanted to be declared a free town. Getting this status was difficult but it meant that once granted, the townsfolk could pick their own religion. It still has a sizeable Protestant community. The Hapsburg empire, of which Rust was then a part, was ferociously Catholic, but Emperor Leopold, being a politician, was prepared to forsake principle for money.
For the equivalent of about US$1.5 million (HK$11.6 million) and 10,000 litres of Rust's famous sweet wine, he set the town free.
