Tilted Shed Blog Wassailing in wine country

On Old Twelfth Night, we wassail. If you had asked me 10 years ago what the heck that means, I'd have guessed something about singing a Christmas carol in a Shakespearean play. But since we embarked on our adventures in Ciderland, the ancient English rite of blessing the apples trees to ensure a good harvest for cider has taken on almost mystical significance. Maybe because it's steeped in pagan ritual-with its incantations and burning torches and raucous noise to ward off evi [...]