I'll drink to that where we get behind the scenes of the beverage business.

I'm Levy Dalton.

I'm Erin Scala and here's our show today. Oh, Two of the most important beverages in human history are wine and cider.

Of these, wine and cider both come from plants that originated near modern day eastern

turkey in Georgia.

I think it's kind of fascinating that Vittus vinifera grape vines most likely came from

this area and so did apples. Siter is an important beverage in America too.

President John Adams drank about a leader each morning with breakfast

before he made all his presidential decisions

and a Cider campaign also helped to sway the 1840 presidential election.

But this time of year, people are drinking a different kind of cider.

Spiced cider served warm and usually spiked. This hot spice cider is known as

Wausle. Wausle has many manifestations and the roots of Wausle date back at least a thousand years.

Wausle dates back to Saxon times when Princess Rowena raised a glass to the health of the British king and exclaimed,

Washeel, or B of Health.

This was in 450 AD.D. and it helped solidify the toasting custom.

But Rowena's toast has a much deeper significance in southern England.

Blessing the Cider Tree Orchards was an important annual ritual that usually took place in mid-January.

People would gather in the orchards led by a ceremonial king and queen, and they'd go from orchard to orchard, and offer

wassal to the trees.

This helped ensure the apple tree health for the next harvest, and it also helped to scare

away evil spirits.

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