The past few weeks have definitely been difficult to make sense of on a global, national and personal level. The Italians have a saying “La calma e' la virtu' dei forti” (Calm is the virtue of the strong) so with this mind I would like to share some heartwarming images from Pinterest to make you calm and strong and believe in mankind!

I have had a lot of birthdays recently - obviously I, myself, have only had one a year although they do seem to come round more and more quickly – I mean, I have had a lot of birthdays to buy for and celebrate. As well as giving the lucky birthdayees a sumptuous bottle of Arthousewine wine which, although the greatest present that I can think of, might make me look a little lazy in the gift department, I have found myself repeatedly gilding the lily by slipping in with the card a little book on wine. I have three absolute favourite books. My local Waterstone’s, which I love to support, stocks two of them, they are paperbacks and they come in at under a tenner. There is a third go-to-for-birthdays wine book that I also want to tell you about; it comes in paperback but not so easily found locally.
All three books are really engaging about wine especially if you are not a passionate wine-bore but merely want to know a little bit more about the great drink itself and have some fun. These authors will make that happen, they are down-to-earth, approachable, they de-mystify the often stuffy (male-dominated) world of wine and they are all women, probably Very Busy women. Apart from all the cool wine knowledge, they bring so much life to their descriptions that you just want to go and taste everything immediately (or is that just me?).  Their approach to wine is refreshingly honest, funny and contemporary....and resonates deeply with us at Arthousewine.
The 24-Hour Wine Expert  by Jancis Robinson (Penguin) “From the world's most respected wine critic, the essential guide to wine in 100 pages.” 
The Pocket Guide to Wine by Nikki Welch (Birlinn Limited) featuring the author’s Wine TubeMap®, a fun and original tool to help you navigate through the world of wine.
Wine Folly – The Essential Guide to Wine by Madeline Puckette and Justin Hammack (Avery) “A hip, new guide to wine for the new generation of wine drinkers.”