Weekend - January 28, 2021

For the most up-to-date listing of events, go online to masslive.com/entertainment

Weekend

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LIVEWIRE: Chandler Travis Philharmonic preps ‘Ivan Variations’ for release, E4 OFF THE MENU: French fries the stuff of fast-food legend, E9 BEER NUT: Creating a Guinness blend that recaptures familiar taste, E10

PLUS

Virtual concert to honor pianist Nadine Shank, E5

Winter hike

Brooks Woodland Preserve in Petersham offers relief from pandemic fatigue, E2

WEEKEND

E2 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2021

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The Brooks Woodland Preserve in Petersham offers 13 miles of trails. Above, the numerous stone walls show that it was once occupied by farmsteads. (STEVE SMITH PHOTO)

ON THE COVER

Take a winter hike

Brooks Woodland Preserve in Petersham offers relief from pandemic fatigue

I

By Steve Smith

Special to The Republican

f the summer is too hot and the winter is too cold, you are not a hiker.

However, if you are, the Brooks Woodland Preserve in Petersham is a good place to chill in any season. If you have pandemic fatigue and you are tired being enclosed within four walls, try this undisturbed forest of

red oaks, white pine and red oaks. You’ll still be surrounded by walls — stone walls. You can’t throw a stick here without hitting another stone wall.

The stone walls are reminders of this property when it was open farmland. On the detailed, hand-curated trail maps, you’ll see the locations of six early 19th century homesteads. All that remains of those homesteads are cellar holes. The S. Dudley cellar hole. The Burn’s cellar hole. The Johnson cellar hole. And the others. All once neighbors, who once

traveled the same footpaths and old farm roads as you’ll walk here in the now forested preserve. It’s not hard to imagine here that stone walls do make good neighbors.

Named for industrialist and diplomat James Wilson Brooks, the property is managed by the Trustees of Reservations. If John Muir were alive today, he would sing the praises of this nonprofit organization from the highest mountaintop. Like all its properties, the

SEE HIKE, PAGE E3

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WEEKEND

THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2021 | E3

DVD RELEASES

‘Synchronic’ takes twists through time

By Katie Foran-Mchale

they confirm that Dennis’ daughter is missing. MeanOne man’s treacherous while, Steve is diagnosed time-travel tops the new with terminal brain cancer DVD releases for this week. and finds the last remaining “Synchronic”: Steve (An- supply of the drug, disthony Mackie) and Dennis covering it makes the user (Jamie Dornan) have worked travel through time. And for together as New Orleans Steve, in search of Brianna, EMTs for decades, and as time-traveling through Louisiana’s prehistoric, colonial, such, their flaws and their Civil War and post-Civil wounds sit near the surface War eras as a Black man is as of their friendship. Frequently hungover Steve is much a threat as his deadly in his 40s and still partying; tumor.

Dennis resents this, as well It’s a high-concept movie, as his role as husband to and directors Justin Benson Tara (Katie Aselton) and and Aaron Moorhead pull it dad to Brianna (Ally Ionanoff, mostly. Although, for a nides), who’s leaving home movie about timing, it seems soon. But things shift after a a tad ironic that the script, by bizarre, disturbing call from writer-director Benson, feels dispatch, wherein Steve is a tad oddly paced. stabbed and they find a long But Mackie carries the serrated weapon that doesn’t weight of the film, his seem from this day and age performance adept in rejammed into the wall (“Time gret, shame, and the space between desperation and is a lie” is also scrawled on liberation. At one point, he the other side of the room, turns to Steve, near tears, to a relatable message for the proclaim, in juxtaposition to quarantine era). his perilous journeys back It turns out there’s a new in time: “The present is a party drug going around, miracle, bro.” It only took Synchronic, that’s leading centuries to get there. to freak accidents, injuries, disappearances and deaths.

Also new on DVD And when the pair of EMTs “Come Play”: A young boy respond to a call from a (Azhy Robertson) unintendrugged-out teenager who tionally unleashes a monster doesn’t know where BrianSEE DVD, PAGE E6 na is, their hearts sink as Tribune News Service

Above, a leaf clings to a branch at the Brooks Woodland Preserve in Petersham. The preserve offers miles of trails and old farm roads through forests dotted with old stone walls and cellar holes.

(STEVE SMITH PHOTOS)

Hike CONTINUED FROM PAGE E2

Even in cold winter months, there is color in the woods. This mushroom was found on a tree in Brooks Woodland Preserve.

In Petersham. (STEVE SMITH PHOTO)

All are accessible for hikers of all skill levels.

If you’ve spent the bulk of the pandemic on your couch, you should be able to still hike these trails. without sharing his secret. If he had, Petersham might be known as the Big (Sweet and Sour) Apple.

If you hike in the winter, follow these guidelines: • Never hike alone and make sure someone knows

where you are going • Beware of reduced visibility due to shorter daylight hours. It gets dark there early.

Also, carry or download a map. Trail markers might be covered in snow.

• Wear waterproof footwear. Wear snowshoes if the snow is deep.

• Beware of hypothermia.

Dress in layers. Pack extra, dry clothes in your backpack.

• Stay hydrated. Put your water bottle in a sock and carry it inside your jacket to keep it from freezing. And remember to drink it. You might not be thirsty, but you could be dehydrated.

• Leave the bug repellent home. You won’t need it.

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Brooks Woodland Preserve is well-marked and well-maintained. “We’re here to protect and share the Massachusetts places people love for their exceptional scenic, historic and ecological value,” the organization says on its website, thetrustees.org. Wool hats off to that.

It offers 13 miles of paths and old farm roads. The popular trails are the Yellow, Blue and White dot trails. All are accessible for hikers of all skill levels. If you’ve spent the bulk of the pandemic on your couch, you should be able to still hike these trails.

There are some inclines, but it is mostly flat. There’s some mud. There’s some ice. Hey, it’s winter in New England.

It’s been a mild winter so far for snow, so chances are good that the trails will be accessible with only waterproof boots. If not, bring snowshoes. Check the weather forecast before you go.

A word about Petersham.

The town was the home of Solomon Willard, who designed the Bunker Hill Monument. However, lesser known and of lesser historical value, it was also the home of Rev. Aaron, who developed without grafting a tree with sweet apples on one side and sour apples on the other side. According to Peter shamcommon.com, he died

E4 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2021

WEEKEND

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MUSIC

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Chandler Travis Philharmonic preps ‘Ivan Variations’ for release

HANDLER TRAVIS has a new release to tout, working again with his Chandler Travis Philharmonic.

As with all things Travis, this new project comes with a twist.

“The Ivan Variations” consists of 12 wildly different versions of the same song. It will appropriately be released on Groundhog Day, Feb. 2.

“Can this be done in an entertaining way?” mused Travis in an email. “Well, it sure entertains the hell out of us.”

“Ivan” is a song from Travis’ second solo album “Ivan in Paris,” a track he describes as “almost an afterthought.”

It has found new life with the Philharmonic.

The Philharmoic has performed “The Ivan Variations” live on Groundhog Day each of the last four years at various Boston venues. This year, COVID-19 has turned the project into a full-fledged recording.

“Though we’ll miss playing the show live this year, we’re glad to continue the tradition in style with this collection,” said Travis. “It is mostly comprised of quite fab sounding live recordings from our show at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge in 2019, plus a few studio forays.”

Travis has performed often in Western Massachusetts with his bands, including the Chandler Travis Trio. He may be best known as the founder of longtime regional outfit Incredible Casuals.

“The Ivan Variations” can be found through chandlertravis.com.

Chandler Travis

email should be forthcoming to detail that process.

In 2016, Halsey earned a Grammy nomination for best pop duo/group performance for her collaboration with The Chainsmokers on the song “Closer.”

The Chandler Travis Philharmonic will release “The Ivan Variations” on Feb. 2. (TIM REIDY PHOTO)

planned a livestream concert.

“Home Alone 2” will take place on Feb. 12 at 9 p.m.

Tickets are $20 and available through mandolin.com.

McDonald will be performing “hits, covers, and a couple Valentine’s Day songs.”

McDonald is best known for his role as the lead singer of the Doobie Brothers. That band Donnie Moorhouse was inducted into the Rock & LiveWire Roll Hall of Fame in 2020 and was forced to postpone its 50th to be determined.

Anniversary tour which would Tickets purchased for the have been the first time Mcoriginal show will be honored. Donald toured with the group in 25 years after leaving for a Ticket buyers can request a refund via email at customer- solo career. service@nbotickets.com.

The tour was rescheduled for Sisters Nerissa and Kathis summer and the group will tryna began working as The play Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Aug. 15.

Nields since 1991. The folk rock band has performed with James Taylor, The Band, and • While COVID-19 infections show no signs of slowing, Indigo Girls.

The group has more recently the 2021 summer concert season hangs in the balance. moved into children’s music Halsey is the first major pop with CDs, DVDs, and a book star to pull the plug on a sum“All Together Singing in the mer concert tour. Her “Manic” Kitchen: Creative Ways to Make and Listen to Music as a shows, originally scheduled for 2020 but postponed due to Family.”

COVID-19, has been canceled altogether.

• Michael McDonald has

The singer was set to play the Xfinity Center in Mansfield as part of that original (and then rescheduled) tour.

Her latest release “Manic” came out last year.

“Safety is the priority,” said Halsey on her Instagram account. “I wish things were different. I love you. Dreaming of seeing your faces again.” She went on to say her goal is to ensure everyone who purchased a ticket gets a refund and that an

• Rock band Weezer has announced a release date for its new album “OK Human.”

The 12-song project is due out tomorrow.

The project is in addition to “Van Weezer,” a recording that was originally scheduled for May of 2020 but has been pushed to May 2021 because of COVID-19 constraints.

Weezer was also scheduled to tour with Green Day last summer on the “Hella Mega” tour which was rescheduled.

The tour will now hit Boston’s Fenway Park on Aug. 5.

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Liner notes • The Nields have postponed a Feb. 6 show at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton.

The show has been moved to “later this year” with a date

“Though we’ll miss playing the show live this year, we’re glad to continue the tradition in style with this collection.”

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WEEKEND

THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2021 | E5

Virtual concert to honor pianist Nadine Shank Longtime UMass professor died in October

W

By Clifton Noble Jr.

Special to The Republican

hen pianist Nadine Shank learned last year that she had Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, an incurable, rapidly progressing dementia, she responded with her characteristic fortitude and sparkle by immediately making as much music as time allowed. She passed away an all-too-brief six months later in October, but left a beautiful and touching musical gift for her myriad admirers to remember her by.

“Celestial Graces: A Remembrance of Nadine Shank,” a video featuring some of that music-making, augmented by archival footage of numerous concerts Shank shared with her University of Nadine Shank Massachusetts colleagues and friends, will be streamed free of charge on Sunday at 3 p.m. on the UMass College of Humanities and Fine Arts YouTube channel, youtube.com/user/umass musicdance Shank taught at UMass for 40 years, developing the Masters in Collaborative Piano degree program there in 1989.

The list of students she taught and for whose recitals she played would fill volumes, and for many of those students, the recitals were highlights of their college careers. Her discography is extensive and includes almost all the music written for classical saxophone, the instrument her father played. Shank maintained a lifelong interest in saxophone repertoire, and collaborated extensively with

WATCH ONLINE What: “Celestial Graces: A Remembrance of Nadine Shank.”

When: Sunday at 3 p.m.

Where: UMass College of Humanities and Fine Arts YouTube channel at youtube.com/user/ umassmusicdance Cost: Free More information: umass. edu/music/news/ celestial-graces-remem brance-nadine-shank

Pianist Nadine Shank teaches students at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst in 2013. On Sunday, the UMass Amherst Department of Music and Dance presents “Celestial Graces: A Remembrance of Nadine Shank,” a virtual concert honoring Shank, who died in October. (UMASS PHOTO)

and she was a gifted soloist as well. Her solo piano skills are born out by recordings of Franz Liszt’s “Sonetto 123 del Petrarca,” from his “Years of Pilgrimage,” and Enrique Granados’s “Goyesca No. 4,” which are included at the close of Sunday’s streamed video.

Collaborations with colleagues and some recent alumnae make up the lion’s her UMass colleague, Lynn share of the concert. With Klock, retired professor of Lynn Klock, Shank plays the saxophone. third movement of Paul MauSalvatore Macchia, chairman rice’s “Tableaux de Provence,” of the UMass Department of and the second movement Music and Dance, rememof Paul Creston’s “Sonata for bered Shank as “… beloved Alto Saxophone and Piano,” by her students, admired and works they recorded for the respected by her colleagues, Open Loop label in 1991. With and dedicated to her role as Klock’s UMass successor, Proteacher, mentor, and perform- fessor Jonathan Hulting-Coer. Nadine’s loss is a great blow hen, Shank plays Baljinder to the UMass Department of Singh Sekhon’s “Gradient,” in Music and Dance. She will be a concert recorded in 2019. sorely missed, and we will nevWith pianist colleagues er fill the void she has left.”

Estela Olevsky and Gilles In addition to her many Vonsattel, Shank plays two of activities at UMass, Shank Dvorak’s brilliant “Slavonic served the Springfield SymDances” for piano duet and phony Orchestra as its princi- two of Mozkowski’s “Spanish pal pianist from 1984 onward, Dances.” There are musical

SALVATORE MACCHIA, CHAIRMAN OF THE UMASS DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC AND DANCE

IRISH NIGHT IN HOLYOKE 2021-A GO GO In memory of Daniel P. Curran To benefit the Maurice A. Donahue Memorial Scholarship featuring

A TRADITIONAL CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE DINNER AND RIBS A CURBSIDE PICKUP: 11a-2p, at the Log Cabin- 500 Easthampton Rd. Holyoke, Mass.

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Prepared by the Log Cabin:

Corned Beef and Cabbage • Ribs • Hash Carrots • Potatoes • Brown Bread • Dessert Presented by the Hibernians of Hampden/Hampshire Counties

Reservations: call Joe O’Connor @ 413-627-7148 or Fran Hennessey @ 413-785-5687 or on line at Eventbrite.com by February 27, 2021 www.aoh-holyoke.com

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“Nadine’s loss is a great blow to the UMass Department of Music and Dance. She will be sorely missed, and we will never fill the void she has left.”

theater numbers (Sondheim’s “I Remember,” and Harnick’s “Will He Like Me?” sung by Roxanne Welch), art songs (Poulenc’s “Air Vif,” sung by Jamie-Rose Guarrine), two movements of Saint-Saens

“Clarinet Sonata” played by Hannah Berube, UMass ’13, and much more.

Adhering to restrictions imposed on the participants as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic made the project all the more challenging, but Shank’s wish to quickly create a musical legacy of beauty and joy in the face of her own personal tragedy came true despite the obstacles, and the Jan. 31 virtual concert is the result.

Videography by Daniel Madsen and tireless organizational and post-production work by Shank’s husband David Nielsen and others saw the project to completion and created a lovely remembrance of this vibrant, brilliant musician, who was taken from us far too soon.

The streamed concert is free and will be a one-time-only event. Some selections will remain posted on the YouTube channel.

Donations are encouraged to the newly established Nadine E. Shank Piano Endowment Fund.

E6 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2021

WEEKEND

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MOVIES ONLINE STREAMING

‘Cowboys,’ ‘Spoor’ lead new film releases

By Michael O’Sullivan

took a prize at L.A. Outfest, in a debut performance that is af“Queer contemporary outlaw fectingly natural and unforced.)

Western” may be a mouthful, Writer-director Anna Kerrigbut “Cowboys” – the story of a an’s gentle little film switches up stereotypes by not making Montana father who takes off the Dad the heavy, but “Cowon a horse for the Canadian border with his trans son when boys” doesn’t exactly demonize Joe’s mother (Jillian Bell) the child’s mother refuses to accept the boy’s authentic self either – at least not terribly, or for terribly long. “Cowboys,” – goes down sweetly. That’s which also features Ann Dowd mostly thanks to Steve Zahn, who took the best actor prize at as the detective pursuing Troy last year’s Tribeca Film Fest for and Joe – acting accolades all around – isn’t a heavy-handed his portrayal of Troy, a goofy, message movie. It takes things grown-up kid with a mood easy. It’s a character-driven disorder who almost instantly accepts things when his tween tale about characters who are all complicated, as Troy puts Josie decides to become Joe. (Young actor Sasha Knight also it, and compelling to watch.

Washington Post

Steve Zahn, right, and Sasha Knight star in “Cowboys.”

(SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS)

DVD

Virtanen) relocates his family to a small town only to encounter a series of distressing CONTINUED FROM PAGE E3 murders. In Finnish. into the world via electronic “Born A Champion”: devices. Also stars Gillian An ex-Marine (Sean Patrick Jacobs and John Gallagher Jr. Flannery) takes on a jiujitsu “Fatman”: An armed Cris opponent who cheated in Cringle (Mel Gibson) makes a their last match. deal with the military and fac“The Court Jester”: The es off with an assassin hired 1956 film starring Danny by a child disappointed by Kaye as a king’s jester imperwhat he found in his stocking. sonator is being released on “Batman: Soul of the Blu-ray for the first time in Dragon”: Animated film celebration of its 65th annifollows Batman on a mission versary. to find a missing martial arts “Doom Patrol: The Complete Second Season”: The teacher.

“Bordertown Season 1”: DC heroes return, shrunken A Finnish city detective (Ville and stuck on a toy race car

Unrated. Available at ange likaanywhere.com. 83 minutes.

In “Spoor,” a fable-like murder mystery about our mistreatment of animals from filmmaker Agnieszka Holland, Janina Duszejko (Agnieszka Mandat-Grabka) is considered to be something of an eccentric in her Polish village on the Czech border. A retired construction engineer who works part-time as an English teacher, she insists on being called by her last name, dabbles in astrology and doesn’t eat meat, in a town where many, if not most, are hunters. After her two beloved dogs disappear and a neighbor – a poacher – is found dead two months later, surrounded by the hoofprints of roe deer, other corpses, all hunters, start turning up with regularity, also near hoofprints. (Duszejko’s theory is that they’re being killed by vengeful animals.)

The suspense-goosing score is all staccato strings, but there’s never that much uncertainty about what’s going on. Best known for the Oscar-nominated “Europa, Europa,” about a Jewish boy in Nazi Germany who conceals his Jewishness, Holland adapted the screenplay for “Spoor” from a book by Olga Tokarczuk (who shares a

track. Stars Diane Guerrero, April Bowlby and Matt Bomer.

“Princess of the Row”: A girl in foster care (Tayler Buck) escapes to find her homeless father (Edi Gathegi) with a dream to leave town together.

“Snowpiercer: The Complete First Season S1”: Post-apocalyptic series based on Bong Joon-ho’s 2013 film follows the infamous nonstop moving train’s survivors. Stars Jennifer Connelly, Daveed Diggs and Mickey Sumner.

“You: The Complete Second Season”: Now known as Will, stalker Joe (Penn Badgley) attempts to start over in

Agnieszka Mandat-Grabka, left, and Miroslav Krobot appear in a scene from“Spoor.” (ROBERT PALKA / SAMUEL GOLDWYN FILMS)

screenwriting credit). There’s mention here of a “holocaust” too, but in the context of animals. “Spoor” doesn’t make much of a secret about its politics, or the whodunit. Its pleasures lie not in the unknown, but in style, mood, atmosphere.

Unrated. Available on various streaming platforms. Contains violence, bloody images, coarse language, sexuality, brief nudity and drug use. In Polish and some English with subtitles. 128 minutes.

Also streaming Lebanon’s official Oscar submission, “1982” was inspired

a new city with a new target, Love (Victoria Pedretti).

Out on Digital HD “Caged”: A psychiatrist (Harlow Reid) struggles to stay sane after being convicted of murdering his wife and placed in solitary confinement.

“Like”: A teen girl seeks revenge on the man who bullied her sister into killing herself. Stars Sarah Rich, Marc Menchaca, Jeff Wincott and Roman Nunez.

“Simmer”: In fear of his family facing deportation, a man (Marsuvio Sanchez) takes a job as a black market

by the director Oualid Mouaness’s boyhood memories of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

Set in an elite private school in Beirut, the film “builds no significant sense of peril,” according to the Hollywood Reporter, “even as the bombing becomes closer and more frequent; all it does, really, is to serve notice as to what we know is coming, as well as to spotlight a privileged lifestyle that one infers will not last long in such a setting.”

Unrated. Available on various streaming platforms. In Arabic and English with subtitles. 100 minutes.

SEE STREAM, PAGE E7

driver.

“I’ll Be Gone in the Dark”: HBO series explores the Golden State Killer case and author Michelle McNamara’s investigation into the dozens of sexual assaults and 10 murders. Out tomorrow.

“The Night”: A couple in a hotel room must confront their marital issues as they are plagued with figurative and actual demons. Stars Shabab Hosseini and Niousha Noor.

In Persian and English. Out tomorrow.

“The Swamp”: Documentary follows Washington, D.C. ,political fundraising culture.

Out Sunday.

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WEEKEND

THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2021 | E7

MOVIES REVIEW

‘The Dig’ lovely meditation on what lasts Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes star in tale inspired by 1939 find

By Michael O’Sullivan

and with the methodical patience of someone unearthing buried treasure with a tiny brush, On the eve of World War II, a self-taught “The Dig” reveals itself to be a story of love English archaeologist, working at the behest and estrangement, of a Suffolk widow with a curiosity about what of things lost and ‘THE DIG’ lay beneath several earthen mounds on her longed for, of life rrrt property, made what is considered to be one and death – of what Rated: PG-13 of the more significant discoveries in British lasts and what Running time: 112 min. archaeology. doesn’t.

Streaming on: Netflix That may be the summary description of the Directed by plot of “The Dig” – or at least the historical actor/filmmaker facts on which the film, and its source materiSimon Stone, from al, a 2007 novel by John Preston – is based. But a richly allusive screenplay by Moira Buffini it doesn’t begin to describe what this poetic (“Tamara Drewe”), “The Dig” begins in a little film is really about, or what it manages straightforward manner: Edith Pretty (Carey SEE ‘DIG’, PAGE E12 to say about the human condition. Gradually, Washington Post

Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan star in “The Dig.” (LARRY HORRICKS / NETFLIX)

Stream CONTINUED FROM PAGE E6

movie maker in “Clapboard Jungle: Surviving the Independent Film Business,” a documentary that Ready Steady Cut calls a “case study” supplemented by advice and insight from directors Guillermo Del Toro, Paul Schrader, George A. Romero and others. Unrated.

Available on various streaming platforms. 98 minutes.

Actor Michael Dorn, best known for creating the character of Worf in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” stars in “Agent: Revelation,” a sci-fi thriller about a man with super powers (writer-director Derek Ting) who is taken under the wing of a secret operative The thriller “A Cold, Hard (Dorn) to train to fight aliens.

Truth” stars husband-and-wife Unrated. Available on various Dorian and Simone Missick in streaming platforms. 87 minutes. a tale of a disgraced journalist seeking vengeance for the “Born a Champion” is a death of his cousin. Unrated. martial arts action film starring Available on various streaming Sean Patrick Flanery and platforms. 105 minutes.

Dennis Quaid in the story of a Marine-turned-jujitsu fighter In the thriller “Identifying (Flanery) seeking revenge for a Features,” a worried Mexican loss in an old fight. R. Available mother (Mercedes Hernandez) on various streaming platforms. seeks information about her Contains strong language son, who hasn’t been heard throughout. 112 minutes. from since he left to find work in the U.S. Variety calls the film Joel Kinnaman and Matthiby Fernanda Valadez “comas Schoenaerts play cousins pelling” but also “frustratingly struggling with the legacy of a cryptic.” Unrated. Available at criminal past in “Brothers by afisilver.afi.com, virtualavalon.org and sunscinema.com.

Blood.” R. Available on various streaming platforms. Contains In Spanish with subtitles. 95 pervasive coarse language, some minutes. violence, sexual references and brief drug use. 89 minutes.

In the documentary “My Rembrandt,” director Oeke Justin McConnell documents Hoogendijk (“The New his struggles as an aspiring Rijksmuseum”) assembles a

ately likable character.” Unrated.

Available at afisilver.afi.com, virtualavalon.org and angelikaanywhere.com. In French with subtitles. 100 minutes.

The documentary “Stallone: Frank, That Is” is a portrait of Frank Stallone, brother of movie star Sylvester Stallone and actor, singer-songwriter and film composer in his own right. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the bittersweet film Dorian Missick, right, and Elimu Nelson appear in a scene from “strives valiantly and in some cases almost desperately to “A Cold Hard Truth.” (INDICAN PICTURES) make the case the 70-year-old Stallone had the musical chops group of obsessive art collecrendezvous with a colleague tors and experts, all united by she met at a conference in New and the raw acting talent to their love of the Dutch master. Jersey, only to find that the man become a major star like his According to the New York big brother, but never quite got claims never to have met her.

Times, “While ‘My Rembrandt’ IndieWire calls it “a kind of am- that shot.” Unrated. Available on nesiac love story crossed with various streaming platforms. 73 poses heady questions about minutes. the difference between acquis- the gloomiest of Krzysztof Kie itiveness and appreciation, it lowski movies, and bordering mostly plays like a straight art- on existential science fiction.”

Sudan’s official Oscar submission, “You Will Die at Twenworld documentary that itself Unrated. Available at afisilver. ty” tells the story of a young would have benefited from a afi.com and virtualavalon.

Sudanese villager (Mustafa more vertiginous, obsessive org. In English and Hungarian Shehata) who has grown up approach.” Unrated. Available with subtitles. 95 minutes. under the shadow of a curse: at afisilver.afi.com. In English, A man (Logann Antuofermo) that he will die before his 21st Dutch and French with subtitles. falls for a different woman in birthday. Variety calls the film, 97 minutes. each of three chapters of the

by Amjad Abu Alala, “an affecting work and an impressive French romantic drama “The In “Preparations to Be first feature thanks in great part Salt of Tears.” The protagonist Together for an Unknown of this black-and-white “medita- to its splendid visual design.”

Period of Time,” a Hungarian tion on love” is, according to the Unrated. Available at afisilver. neurosurgeon (Natasa Stork) Hollywood Reporter, a “comafi.com. In Arabic with subtitles. returns to Budapest after 20 102 minutes. years in the U.S. for a romantic plex, not necessarily immedi-

WEEKEND

E8 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2021

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DINE & WINE

P

Aperture Cellars focuses on creating outstanding wines in Sonoma County

HOTOGRAPHY AND winemaking might not seem to have a lot in common.

But if it wasn’t for photography, Jesse Katz probably never would have become a renowned winemaker.

Katz’s long journey to becoming a winemaker can be traced back to his father, Andy, a professional photographer.

“My father had always been a photographer,” Katz said during a recent interview. “He used to do rock and roll album covers for The Doobie Brothers and Dan Fogelberg.”

Then when Katz was about 12 years old, his father got an assignment from a restaurant in Colorado (where the family lived at the time) to take photographs of wineries in California.

“They sent him to take photos of the vineyards and wineries in Napa and Sonoma,” Katz said. “My dad barely knew the difference between white zinfandel and red zinfandel at the time. He had no idea about wine, but he really kind of fell in love with the people in Napa and Sonoma, the wines, the wineries and the culture of this area. He also met some

Ken Ross Wine Press

duction to that book. And that really kind of kicked my dad’s career off in that industry.”

That book led to 12 more photography books by Andy Katz about wine, which involved the family living in some of the world’s greatest wine regions, including Tuscany in Italy and France’s Bordeaux and Burgundy regions. France in particular left a lasting impression on the young Jesse Katz.

“I was a kid and I was getting to live and travel in all these difference areas,” he said. “I think it was very impactful for me at an early age, particularly in France when we were living in Beaune or wherever it may be. Burgundy was quite easy because I could understand at a young age because the red

The three wines from Aperture Cellars in California’s Sonoma County recommended this week. (PHOTO BY KEN ROSS)

an effect on the final product.

I had no idea how to articulate it at the time — that essence of terroir — and how the human touch can go so far but the place where it comes from has so much to do with it as well.”

Even so, Katz never actually thought he could make a living as a winemaker.

“I never thought in my wildest dreams I could be a winemaker, especially in the old

“I never thought in my wildest dreams I could be a winemaker, especially in the old world (Europe), where it seems like it has to be passed down from generation to generation.”

Jesse Katz, Aperture Cellars

very influential people, Robert Mondavi being one of them.

After my dad had finished this project for the restaurant, he kept in touch with these folks and Mondavi being the visionary that he is, saw some of these amazing photos that my dad had taken, started utilizing them in their own marketing and then actually talked my dad into doing a book on the beauty of the region called ‘Napa and Sonoma’ and Mondavi ended up writing the intro-

wine was almost always pinot noir and the white wine being chardonnay, but how vastly different that same varietal could be for the same vintage from village to village.

“Sitting at the dinner table, they would pour you a little glass of wine and start introducing it to you as part of the food and part of the culture and part of the region. So that was kind of my first ‘a ha’ moment in wine, getting to really understand how a place had such

world (Europe), where it seems like it has to be passed down from generation to generation.

So when I left Colorado at 18 and moved to California to go to business school in Santa Barbara and I needed summer job and I was fascinated with wine and wanted to continue to study it, I got an internship at 18 at Fess Parker Winery, which was the closest winery I could find. It was a great winery. Fess was still alive when I was there.

It was just a great team, great

group of individuals. I got to see there were a lot of folks that were not born into the wine industry as well. There were actually degrees in viticulture and oenology and other words I had never even heard of.

“After I got my degree in business, I transferred to Fresno State, where I got my viticulture knowledge and chemistry degrees. During that time, I fell in love with Bordeaux varietals.

I really love kind of the ability of a winemaker to create different textures within the same varietal. There was so much more tannin component, so much more aging in barrels and how you could kind craft these different textures and balances in wine. It gave the winemaker a lot more stylish flexibility.

“After I got my degrees from Fresno, I started spending half of the year in the Southern Hemisphere and back here in our hemisphere for our harvest so I was getting two harvests in every year for the first few years. I really just wanted to surround myself with some of the best talent and best vineyards I possible could. And specifically, I wanted to study varietals – Bordeaux varietals – in multiple different climates

and regions. I worked throughout Napa, focusing mostly on cabernet sauvignon. I went out to Argentina and studied malbec for a couple different vintages ... I got to study these varietals at a very, very high level.”

Katz’s studies also included stints at some of the best wineries in France’s Bordeaux region, including Chateau Petrus. He then worked at several wineries in California and Argentina. So why did Jesse and his father decide to start Aperture Cellars in 2009?

“After I got back from Argentina, I got a job with Screaming Eagle and I worked throughout Napa,” Jesse said. “At that time, as I started to study more and more, my father had just moved to Healdsburg, which is where I live now. I was visiting him over there a lot. The pinot noir producers of this area were really doing a great job of focusing on high quality farming, single vineyard sites and you were starting to see some of these stars coming out of Sonoma focused on the pinot noir realm. The cabernet sites out here. There are obviously a lot of them. But I wanted to show what Sonoma County could do particularly … with luxury, high-end wines and farming them to their top ability.

“I started Aperture just really as a fun project because none of the wineries I had been working at I could afford at all and we wanted to start a fun project showcasing and focusing on varietals in a different way.”

Aperture Cellars is best known for its cabernet sauvignon wines. So why did the Katzs decide to open a winery famous for its cabernet sauvignon wines in Sonoma instead of Napa, which is world famous for its cabernet sauvignon wines? Part of it has to do with economics.

“The cost per acre or ton in Napa is just so ridiculously

SEE WINE, PAGE E11

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

WEEKEND

THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2021 | E9

DINE & WINE

T

French fries the stuff of fast-food legend

“French” fries actually originated in Belgium, where American soldiers fighting in Flanders during World War I developed a taste for the local “pommes frites.”

(HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO)

The restaurant, which is located at 99 Springfield Road, is offering a “buy one, get one” deal every Sunday through Thursday evening, 4 to 8 p.m.

Patrons who buy one dinner meal at the regular price get a second entree (of equal or lesser value) for free. Eligible selections range from chicken Parmesan and shrimp scampi to beef filet tips and a half rack of ribs.

House-made desserts are also a specialty at Shortstop; an Oreo creme brulee was promoted as a recent dessert feature.

Shortstop Bar & Grill answers at 413-642-6370.

Power Breakfast Sandwich.

Featuring a black bean patty developed by MorningStar Farms, the sandwich also includes an egg white omelet layer, cheddar cheese, and multigrain bread.

The Power Sandwich will be available through February.

A new “Dunkin’ Midnight” roast has been added to the chain’s coffee listings. Dunkin’s darkest roast so fair, it’s described as having full-bodied flavor with cocoa notes.

“Dunkin’ Midnight” is to be a permanent addition to the chain’s menu.

• Struggling with historically low occupancy rates, the test kitchens.

It certainly describes what • Dunkin’ locations are now hotel industry has been getting SEE MENU, PAGE E10 Glendale, California-based featuring a Southwest Veggie IHOP, the pancake house chain that’s been rebranding itself as a family dining destination, was striving for when it created a new line of six burritos.

Playing to IHOP’s core business, four of the six burritos are breakfast-focused.

Hugh Robert The “Classic” is a tortilla Off The Menu wrap that’s stuffed with bacon or sausage, shredded cheese, were once prepared, can be and hash browns. Diced ham found at atlasobscura.com/ and sausage headline in the articles/original-mcdon“Country Breakfast,” which ACROSS FROM THE BEACH - alds-french-fry-recipe. also incorporates peppers THE VILLAGE GREEN. Rates from and onions, cheese, and hash Side dishes $60 - $85 to 5/30/21 (excluding holidays, browns.

• Valentine’s Day has always Hot pepper heat plays a role some restrictions apply). 3 Night Special been an important day for the in the “Spicy Poblano Fajioff season starting from $145 all week. ta” burrito at IHOP, while a restaurant industry, and this Ocean views and efficiencies available. year, despite the challenges the “Southwest Chicken” variation pandemic poses, area eateries which features grilled chicken FREE continental breakfast in season. and avocado. are preparing for the occasion All rooms have refrigerators and cable TV. Egg-free versions of the with special offerings. chicken and beef burritos comVilla Napoletana in East Heated outdoor pool. Take children to the plete the new product rollout; Longmeadow is promoting a beachside playground. Close to several Valentine’s Day menu for Feb. those variations are designed golf courses, tennis courts, whale watch as lunch and dinner options.

14 with a late afternoon/early All six burritos can also be evening dining experience. cruises, ferries to Nantucket and Martha’s ordered as “bowls.”

A celebratory menu is Vineyard, restaurants, shops, bike trails and There are Springfield-area planned with creative apmany more of the Cape’s unique attractions. petizers and selected wines IHOP restaurants at the Five available, and a “rose for every Town Plaza and on Riverdale 10% Senior Discount. South lady” is promised.

Street in West Springfield.

Shore Drive, South Yarmouth, MA 02664.

Call 413-732-9300 for reser1-800-487-4903. www.vgreenmotel.com. vations.

• While the new Congress works on economic stimulus in • “Portability” – the extent the weeks ahead, the Shortstop Bar & Grill in Westfield to which a menu item is takehas rolled out a stimulus packhome friendly – is, these days, a buzzword in chain restaurant age of its own.

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HEY’RE THE STUFF of fast-food legend.

The “they” is McDonald’s original-formulation french fries. Made from fresh Russet potatoes and fried in beef tallow, the french fries served at McDonald’s restaurants in the 1960s and ’70s supposedly earned the praise of late 20th century food luminaries like James Beard and Julia Child.

Certainly today’s restaurant french fries aren’t often memorable. Industrially processed, flash frozen, and sometimes “coated” to give the product better “plate life,” the modern french fry is nothing like the “pommes frites” from which they are originally descended.

“French” fries actually originated in Belgium; during World War I American soldiers fighting in Flanders developed a taste for the local “pommes frites.” Even today epicures claim that Belgium produces the best “french fries” in the world, thanks in part to the mix of ox tallow and vegetable oil in which traditionalists continue to fry them.

The original McDonald’s french fry formulation was a complicated process that mimicked the way in which authentic “pommes frites” were prepared. Russet potatoes were cut in-store, held in cold water to rinse off surface starch, and then air-dried before being fried in beef fat.

In the early 1990s nutrition activists were successful in pressuring McDonald’s to abandon beef fat as a frying medium in favor of “healthier” vegetable oil. At about the same time the chain discontinued the labor-intensive on-site process of cutting and prepping potatoes in favor of a custom manufactured alternative.

A full, albeit unofficial history of the McDonald’s french fry is told by freelance writer Luke Fater in an article entitled “My Hunt for the Original McDonald’s French-Fry Recipe.”

Fater’s article, which also describes his efforts to recreate McDonald’s fries as they

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E10 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2021

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

DINE & WINE

Creating a Guinness blend that recaptures familiar taste

A

Blending Guinness Draught Stout and Guinness Foreign Extra Stout created a taste similar to the brew of decades ago.

(GEORGE LENKER PHOTO)

Menu CONTINUED FROM PAGE E9

creative, promoting empty guest rooms as “private dining venues.” Individuals wishing to hold a dinner party away from home book a hotel room and are served using an enhanced room service model. What results is a socially distanced dining experience for the dining patrons and a revenue opportunity for the property.

D. Hotel Suites & Spa in Holyoke, the lodging partner of the Delaney House-Log Cabin group, is using a variation of this strategy to offer dine-andsleep getaways over the upcoming Valentine’s Day weekend.

Guest rooms will be equipped with elegantly-dressed tables for two, and a special fourcourse “Private Dining” menu will be served. The meal will include an appetizer trio and a “surf and turf ” main course composed of filet mignon and blackened salmon, as well as salad, side dishes, and dessert.

This special overnight stay is available Feb. 12, 13, and 14.

D. Hotel Suites & Spa is also offering a Good Night & Great

Dunkin’ will offer the new Southwest Veggie Power Breakfast Sandwich made with a black bean patty for a limited time nationwide.

S A LONGTIME Guinness drinker, I am on the side of people who think the brew has changed — at least here in America — since Diageo was formed and took over the company in a 1997 merger. Now, no one seems to have any hard evidence of this, but I know two things for sure: First, when I drink it on draft here these days, it tastes different from how it did 25 years ago.

Second, when I drink it in Ireland, it tastes different from here.

Now, I will admit two things about the above statements: Yes, tastes and taste buds change over time. Sometimes a favorite food or beverage doesn’t have to change at all to see it become less tasty to a

not what I’m talking about here.)

With those caveats out of the way, I’m still here to say that the Black Stuff tastes different to me, both in terms of previous domestic offerings and current ones available here and in Ireland. I don’t know if a recipe was changed or a brewing process was tweaked. All I know is George Lenker that I’m not the only one who Beer Nut thinks this.

But I’m not here to debate that point today. I’m actually person. And as far as it tasting different in Ireland, I’ll fall back here to offer a workaround for on my old saying when people those who believe as I do.

Wait, what? A workaround? ask me if Guinness tastes better Yes. Here’s what happened. in Ireland: “Of course it tastes I was browsing the beer better in Ireland. You’re in Ireland. Everything is better when shelves last week and I spied a you’re on holiday there.” four-pack of Guinness Foreign (Oh, and before anyone says Extra Stout, a high-octane verthis old chestnut: Yes, I know it sion of Guinness that I hadn’t SEE BEER, PAGE E11 matters how it’s poured. That’s

Soft Taco that features the Bites along with cheese, lettuce, and chipotle cream, and Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes, which pairs up the Bites with warm nacho cheese.

All three items are designed to enhance Taco Bell’s credentials as a vegetarian destination.

• Those looking for a “different” weekend breakfast (DUNKIN’) need only turn to the Crest Room in West Springfield to Start package that includes find inventive ways to start the an overnight stay on Feb. 13 day. Providing dine-in, takeout, and brunch for two the next and curbside pickup service, morning at the Delaney House the Crest Room offers weekly next door. breakfast specials to complement their regular weekend Either package can be reserved by calling D. Hotel Suites morning menu. and Spa at 413-533-2100.

Options in the breakfast rotation include the likes • Sidelined by a menu of a cheeseburger omelet, restructuring last spring, Potato s’mores French toast (with its Bites are making a return to mini-marshmallow and chocolate syrup finish), “Eggs Benny,” Taco Bell’s menu in early and a selection of breakfast March. flatbreads.

The seasoned potato pieces Breakfast is served on Saturwill once again be available days and Sundays from 8 a.m. as a substitution for meat or beans. Their return also means to 1 p.m.

For lunch and dinner the that two other Taco Bell menu Crest Room prepares and serves favorites can be brought out of smokehouse barbecue specialretirement — the Spicy Potato

Villa Napoletana in East Longmeadow is promoting a Valentine’s Day menu for Feb. 14. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO)

ties as well as a menu of entree and sandwich favorites.

The restaurant’s web address is thecrestroom.com; it answers at 413-739-7700.

• Mezze Bistro + Bar in Williamstown has created what it’s labeling as “Mezze Market,” a takeout option that includes everything from reheatable dishes to dry good and refrigerated sauces.

Available Thursday through Sunday, the market offers choices such as whole roasted chickens, house-made spicy Italian sausages, and beef-pork blend meatballs, as well as din-

ners like oyster mushroom and squash ragout, pork and beef Bolognese, and hanger steak.

Mezze Bistro + Bar is also open for on-premises dining on Friday and Saturday evening; a chef ’s tasting menu is featured.

Mezze’s phone number is 413-458-0123; its web address is mezzerestaurant.com.

Hugh Robert is a faculty member in Holyoke Community College’s hospitality and culinary arts program and has nearly 45 years of restaurant and educational experience. Robert can be reached online at OffTheMenuGuy@aol.com.

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

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DINE & WINE

Beer CONTINUED FROM PAGE E10

had in many years. Just for old times’ sake, I grabbed it and bought it.

When I got home, I tried it and it immediately made me think of Guinness back in the day. It dawned on me that maybe whatever changes they made to regular Guin-

Wine

Now I’m not here to claim the result was like Guinness in the 1990s and certainly not like Guinness I’ve had in Ireland. But you know what? It hovered close enough that the taste brought me back to the old days. ness (again, if any) didn’t get applied to FES. Of course FES is a different beast altogether, coming in around 7.5% alcohol by volume. Then a light bulb

and proceeded to blend the two beers together. I tried to make the mixture 50-50, but with the nature of carbonation, I’m not sure I hit that mark, but it was close enough.

Now I’m not here to claim the result was like Guinness went off in my head. in the 1990s and certainly I remembered that I had not like Guinness I’ve had in bought some Guinness draught Ireland. But you know what? in a can recently. So I reached It hovered close enough that into the fridge, grabbed a can the taste brought me back to

the old days. I’m going to try it again soon, and will include a note on further findings at the end of an upcoming column. I may try different levels of each beer.

If you’re a Guinness drinker and believe it’s changed over the years, I’d love for you to try this experiment and let me know what you think at geolenker@yahoo.com.

Sláinte.

2017 Aperture Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Grape: 100% cabernet sauCONTINUED FROM PAGE E8 vignon high that if you’re not born Winemaker’s tasting into it or come from money, notes: “Cabernet was the first it’s really hard to make it as a wine I ever made under the young winemaker like myself,” Aperture portfolio. For the he said. “I think it’s one of the first four years, it was just this faults of Napa. It’s pushing out wine and we created one wine a lot of the young talent.” under Aperture. This is a soil Jesse Katz, Aperture Cellars But money wasn’t the only specific wine. These soils are all reason why Katz wanted to volcanic. This comes from four, specific hillside vineyards on open a winery in Sonoma After those fires … everything the eastern part of Alexander County. that I was testing and tasting “For me there’s a level of Valley. There’s red volcanic and had an effect from smoke. It discovery and finding new was quite low at that point, but white, chalky volcanic soils in gems that is really exciting,” there. In general, the volcanic still we made a very hard line Katz said. soils and the steep hillsides that if it’s above our threshold And part of that has to do we’re working with give (the … then that wine will not be with creating wines that truly used. So everything we brought grapes) a lot of stress early on in express the potential of Sonoin after the 2017 fires we ended that vine’s life. So we’re able to ma County’s soils and climate. shrink the berry size down on a up having to bulk out,” mean“When I started with wineing sell as bulk wine and not consistent level from vintage to making, I wanted to be in the use in the blended red wine. vintage, even if we get a lot of winery all the time,” Katz said. Wine tasting notes 2017 Aperture Cellars Bor- As a result, the 2017 Aperture rain. Those soils dry out really, 2018 Aperture Cellars Sau- deaux Red Blend “Then I realized how importCellars Bordeaux Red Blend really quickly because of the ant the vineyard was. After I vignon Blanc Grape: 52% malbec, 48% “is a little more unique than steepness of the hillsides and got in the vineyard more and Grape: 98% sauvignon merlot our other red blends. It’s just the volcanic soil drains really more, I saw how important blanc, 2% semillon Winemaker’s tasting two varietals this vintage. The well … The volcanic soils for the soils were. And the more I Winemaker’s tasting notes: notes: “2017 was another fire 2017 is just malbec and merlot. me in cabernet really highlight started to come to the Sonoma “The style for our sauvignon vintage. In 2017, (the fires) had They’re two of my favorite minerality and nuance. To side, I saw what spectacular blanc is really influenced by a much, much larger effect in varietals. I went to Argentina me, this wine is something of soils we had over here and our my time in Bordeaux. Although those areas where we farm and to study malbec and Bordeaux a unique style of cabernet for climate was slightly cooler I was studying mostly on the grow. Thankfully, it was much to study merlot. Those two California. It has a lot of great (than Napa) and as we started Right Bank, this really overlater on in the season, so we varietals are always a bit of the fruits and it’s more of the darker, blue, black fruits. But there’s to see these warmer and warm- lapped from when my father were about 92% through the make up of this wine … To me, er vintages, that’s what really was doing his book on the harvest at that point. And the it showcases a lot of the spice, a also some spice and minerality brought me out here. I started First Growths. So I spent a lot crops that we had left out was lot of those beautiful red fruits. and a level of freshness and looking for what’s sustainable of time before the reds were a little bit of our latest ripening The 2017 red blend is drinking elegance.” and what will be the next great coming in on the Right Bank Wine writer’s tasting cabernet sauvignon on our clay so beautifully to me right now sites, and the soils brought me getting to spend a lot of time soils. Usually, the cab in the clay because it has a lot of structure notes: Subtle, well-balanced, out here and the climate. in the vineyards and cellars of soils goes into our red blend and spice and fruit and richness voluptuous wine with earthy, “I still think some of the sites Haut-Brion and Chateau Marintense flavors. Smooth texture … The clay loam soils hold the and beautiful, long finish.” in Napa are some of the great gaux and some of these other water a little bit more and it will Wine writer’s tasting notes: from start to finish. Absolutely magical, bright, delightful sites on the planet, but consis- places because my father really not let the vine ripen quite as Austere, dry, flinty red wine tently during warm vintages, wine. got to know those folks quite much… For cabernet sauviwith a soft yet intense finish. gnon, it’s always going to show- Peppery notes combined with my favorite sites are my cooler well. While I was particularly Cheers!

Wine Press by Ken Ross appears sites in Sonoma for cabernet at Haut-Brion, I got to see their case more red fruits and will hints of dried fruit flavors that sauvignon. attention to detail of their farm- always be our last sites we pick last several minutes after each on Masslive.com every Monday “We get a lot more coastal ing of sauvignon blanc … their and in The Republican’s weekend and those were sites that were taste. A truly wonderful wine influence” in Sonoma, he said. attention to detail in winemak- still hanging out there in 2017. section every Thursday. with a velvet-like richness.

“Our nighttime temperatures are usually about 10 to 15 degrees cooler. It will take a little bit longer to warm up during the days. Our heat spikes won’t be as extreme and it will cool down quicker. So it’s just a more temperate climate. Those cool nights allow the vineyards to rebound and give the wines a little more nuance and elegance.

We’re just able to create wines that have more balance, nuance and elegance.”

ing, how hard they would press it, monitoring pH during their press cuts and then of course their barrel fermentation. So when I wanted to create the first white wine under Aperture, it really took its influence from the Bordeaux blanc style. I get a lot of white peach, melon, some fig on there. We took some of those elements from my time there (in Bordeaux) and really created our own style. We’re not trying to make Bordeaux style white wines. We’re trying to Aperture Cellar wines take some of those techniques reviewed this week and showcasing our unique fruit • 2018 Aperture Cellars Sau- and our amazing climate.” vignon Blanc ($40 Suggested Wine writer’s tasting Retail Price) notes: Fresh, bright yet slightly • 2017 Aperture Cellars Red smoky wine with hints of Blend ($55 SRP) peach, apricot and other lively, • 2017 Aperture Cellars Cab- refreshing fruit. Subtle, underernet Sauvignon ($70 SRP) stated, soft, rounded flavors.

“To me, this wine is something of a unique style of cabernet for California. It has a lot of great fruits and it’s more of the darker, blue, black fruits.”

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Mulligan) has just engaged the services of Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes), a local man who hides his sharp archaeological instincts behind his job description: “excavator” – a designation he has chosen for himself that, like the film itself, engages in misdirection.

Soon Basil’s discovery – that Edith’s estate is a burial ground of sorts – is laid bare, and the film proceeds with the standard fare of so many prestige British dramas. The coming war threatens the project, along with inclement weather and academic snobbery, personified by a pompous archaeologist from the British Museum (Ken Stott), who attempts to bigfoot Brown, commandeering his work site and dismissing his expertise, when word of the dig leaks out.

But slowly, slyly, the film deepens, becoming so much more than a period drama with pretty costumes, plummy accents and petty melodramas. In a sense, the tale of Brown’s work – while momentous both historically and personally, as a tale of stolen credit – is, like what has been dug up in the dirt, merely a vessel for larger meaning.

Subplots involving Edith’s health, her worries for her cousin (Johnny Flynn), who is about to go off to battle, and the unhealthy marriage of a couple hired to work on the dig (Lily James and Ben Chaplin) enrich the sidelines of the story. What might have been mere embellishments, meant to juice up a dusty narrative, are, in the hands of Buffini and Stone, by the end of the film, the whole point.

And what is that point?

On the most superficial level, it’s that archaeology – even when the practice is explicitly being undertaken in a place where a corpse has been lain – isn’t about the dead, but the living. “The Dig” is about the yearning, so human and, yes, so elusive and so futile, to fix the past so that it can be preserved.

Of course, it can’t, in any literal sense. Even the bits of iron, bronze and gold that get saved in museums won’t last forever, any more than the people who made them, or the emotions we feel, and sometimes fail to show, for a loved one.

Brown’s dig dispelled myths about the “Dark Ages,” but “The Dig” explodes another greater and more haunting illusion, with grace and at times exquisite sadness: that we are anything more than ghosts.