Lush and indulgent, it’s heavy on the palate with notes of overripe strawberries, Montmercy cherries and redwood.
As with many wineries, Moone Tsai began as a starry-eyed dream. While building up his LinkedIn profile with Fortune 500 companies, Larry Tsai started filling his downtime with assorted food and wine pursuits. MaryAnn Tsai had a different upbringing—in college, she was drawn abroad to the Lorie Valley, where she was entranced by the French country living and its equally enthralling wines. Both ended up in Napa Valley with the formidable goal of building their own project from the ground-up. Twenty years later, Larry and MaryAnn are quietly and passionately making award-winning wines in the Valley’s confines.
While MaryAnn is a winemaker by trade, making 100-point wines in Napa is a seriously tough task. So she called Philippe Melka, a Bordeaux-bred wine legend, to lend his palate and blending capabilities. Problem is, these wines are only available in limited releases, and often only to loyal subscribers. But you can find some bottles of say, the Corinne Cuvee Pinot Noir, floating around fine wine shops. Named after MaryAnn and Larry’s daughter, it’s lush and indulgent—heavy on the palate with notes of overripe strawberries, Montmercy cherries and redwood. $120
Kate Dingwall is a sommelier and wine writer. Her work frequently appears in Wine Enthusiast, Eater, Forbes.com, and Food & Wine, and she pours wine at one of Canada’s top restaurants.
