How true it is that no good deed goes unpunished! Hot on the heels of SA wine embracing the braai as the quintessential cuisine of the Winelands in the shape of the hot new WOSA publication Cape Wine Braai Masters, comes the news that Cape vineyards are being stolen for braai wood. L’Avenir in Stellenbosch has reportedly lost 2ha of vines, which are sold along the R44 to Paarl. Old bush vines make the best braai wood and the best wine, setting up an interesting dynamic between the interests of wine lovers and braai masters.

As Cape Wine Braai Masters notes in a chapter entitled The Great SA Braai Tradition “Standing around the fire, staring into the flames, cradling a beer… There are those who swear by wingerdstompies (vine stumps)…” Including Stellenbosch vine stealers who are taking WOSA’s enthusiasm for braais to heart.