Julia, Klemens & Eva from KABUFF

Under the motto "all about sourdough," Julia, Klemens, and Eva opened their Kabuff Bistro in Graz in the fall of 2024. During a spontaneous visit to Graz earlier this year, Sonja from the Blue Sonja wine shop recommended this charming restaurant to us: "You absolutely have to have breakfast there!" In addition to the unusual, refreshing breakfast creations with homemade sourdough bread and the friendly service, we were also delighted to see our wines on the shelves there.
We've now also been able to sample the sharing menu in the evenings and are big fans of Eva's vegetable-focused cuisine, which places great emphasis on the origin of all products.

Tasting notes by Julia, Klemens & Eva

• Stein Furmint 2023

The Furmint 2022 landed directly on the wine list at the KABUFF Bistro & Restaurant, not only because we were already familiar with it, but also because it simply tastes good. This made us all the more curious about the new vintage. The variety is still a bit underrated—which we can't quite understand, but it's slowly joining the ranks of the more classic Austrian grape varieties. The scent of wood immediately hits the nose, along with a hint of stone fruit, apricot, peach, a little excursion into summer, and even a touch of green grass—perhaps due to the freshness that the wine seems to have briefly opened. Even when tasting, it comes across as very fresh, with the alcohol content showing, and the acidity present. We let it open for two days, and it transforms into a taut yet delicate wine, the acidity integrating beautifully, and so we serve it as a wine accompaniment to raw marinated kohlrabi with lemon verbena. A beautiful balance between spring and summer.

• Steiner Kékfrankos 2020

A beautiful light cherry red, despite the appropriate coloring from the five years of aging, is what first catches our eye. The nose immediately catches the eye with sour cherries, a hint of cassis, and an overripe plum. There's also a spiciness we can't describe at first, a hint of pepper? And there's something "fragrant," ethereal, something like lavender, but only a trace. We first taste the Steiner slightly chilled, with the sour cherry on the palate, accompanied by a subtle acidity. The tannins are a bit more restrained at the cooler temperature; we like to describe such a combination of acidity and light tannins as "drinkable." After a while in the glass at a higher temperature, the aromas also become stronger on the palate, while the tannins are still wonderfully integrated. This is simply a pleasure to drink, whether cold or warm.

• Hochäcker Blaufränkisch 2023

The Hochäcker immediately smells of red berries, a childhood memory like sitting in my grandmother's garden among the berry bushes. The wood comes through, and a spiciness is present even in its early years. We want to taste the changes in temperature and time, so it first enters the glass at around 8 degrees Celsius. The Szechuan spice is lovely and combines with a complex acidity. The whole thing becomes even more powerful as it gradually warms, the tannins embellishing the palate, but not too heavy. We're excited to see what this wine can do in the coming years. Whether we'll be able to let it sit, though, we're not sure.

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