Mike Nichols, who won the Oscar for directing The Graduate (1967) is having a moment. The biography “Mike Nichols: A Life” by Mark Harris was released Sunday Dinner and a Movie earlier this year to wide acclaim, and as I wait for my wife to finish it, I realize I’ve absorbed much of his opus “The Graduate” throughout my life. From watching brilliant skits of Nichols and May on TV, to seeing any play he directed Serves Two, Includes Wine on Broadway (and there were quite a few), to his varied 85 range of films. After being known for directing stage comedy he was a surprising hire, at the age of 35, to Order Today; Pick-up helm the dark, bitter movie Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf Saturday, April 10th starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. (I’d have 505-983-2100 been afraid of Taylor!) Then came The Graduate, which please inform us of any allergies or dietary restrictions has some of the same alcoholic vitriol as Virginia Woolf, but in an appealing cocktail of satire and wit in a screen play by Buck Henry, who appears as the arch hotel desk Pacific Lump Crab Salad clerk. “Are you here for an affair?” little gem lettuce, avocado, snap peas, The filmed is indelibly enriched by the now green goddess dressing classic tunes of Simon & Garfunkel, “Mrs. Robinson,” “April Come She Will,” “Scarborough Fair/Canticle,” Sear-at-Home Mahi Mahi “The Sound of Silence”. Also, the music of Santa Fe’s olive oil smashed yukons, spring asparagus, own David Grusin graces the soundtrack. meyer lemon & green olive salsa While the movie isn’t by any means a chick-flick as it is a coming-of-age story of Benjamin Braddock Crème Fraiche & Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta (Dustin Hoffman), it’s the female characters who are the strawberry compote most genuine. And even though the veracious Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) isn’t exactly an exemplary woman, she lays it on the line - and the graduate. Hoffman went from off-off Broadway actor to mega- Miner Family Viognier Paso Robles CA star. Always courageous, Hoffman trusted Nichols to Viognier is very much the Mrs. Robinson of grapes: capture something unfiltered. You’re not watching voluptuous, silky, and well composed, with enough acid Hoffman’s work on display. Then there’s the seductive and grip to bely the years of experience that have Anne Bancroft, a triple crown winner (Oscar, Tony, coalesced to make the exact right combination of Emmy). flamboyance and restraint. The Miner family has been in In college I related to Benjamin, in what seemed the business for a good many years; they produce wines the hypocrisy of an uncertain future. As an adult my of elegance and structure.; their Viognier is an excellent, sympathy is with Mrs. Robinson, facing a coldly clear varietally correct expression of all that the grape can future, bereft of any hope of happiness. The scenes offer. There is lemon and peach marmalade, with whisps between these characters are hilariously heartbreaking. of white pepper and beeswax, held together by Here’s to you, Mrs. Robinson and Mr. Robinson (Murray underlying herbaceous notes and an iota of saline Hamilton), who endure a loveless marriage, nearly minerality. Just like our title film, this is a wine that keeps sacrificing their daughter Elaine (Katherine Ross) to the you coming back for more, keeps you reassessing you same travail. A happy ending? You decide. preconceived notions, offering the best of satisfactions while also posing the question, “what’s next?” Footlights: We recently lost the versatile, charming George Segal (The Owl and the Pussycat, Blume in Love, Just Shoot Me!). He appeared in Nichol’s Virginia Woolf as the young man lured into the strange world of Movie available to stream on multiple platforms George and Martha. I played that role on stage and I remember my review: “Selby was good, but not as sexy Synopsis provided by James Selby, former professional actor, lifelong movie buff, wine rep extraordinaire, and all-around as George Segal.” Here’s to you, Mr. Segal. super star human. .