Photo via Turks Head Wines

Turks Head Wines is a California winery with a unique tasting room and wine lounge in downtown West Chester. The wines poured in the tasting room come from Northern California, produced from grapes sourced from some of the region’s best vineyards, then vinified and bottled there before making the trek to Pennsylvania in refrigerated trucks. Turks Head also has a food menu.

Founder Allison Owen: photo via Turks Head Wines

“We are a tasting room that has a culinary component to complement the wines,” says owner Allison Owen, a Level 3 Sommelier and Certified Wine Instructor. She launched Turks Head Wines in 2022 and opened the doors to the tasting room in the fall of 2024.

The name of this California winery’s Pennsylvania tasting room is rooted in the region’s history.

Photo via Turks Head Wines

“West Chester used to be known as Turks Head,” says Owen. “In 1762, a man named Phineas Eachus built a tavern and called it Turks Head Tavern.” At the time, there was no official town; after the tavern was built, it became a landmark. Locals would say that they lived near Turks Head. Eventually, the town became known as West Chester.

The tasting room is located about a block and a half away from that original tavern’s location, in a building that was historically a market house where goods were traded. It’s had multiple lives since, including a livery, a 1950s automotive garage, and an art center.

Lago di Merlo Vineyard in California (a grape source for Turks Head WInes): photo via Turks Head Wines

The Vision
When Owen chose to leave the corporate world, she wanted to turn her passion for wine into her career. She loves California wine, but she lives in West Chester. The idea for a California winery with a Pennsylvania tasting room was born.

Photo via Turks Head Wines

“As I worked on my business plan, I wanted to create something deeply rooted in education,” says Owen. Visitors to the tasting room hear the stories from the knowledgeable staff about the vineyards, the American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) where the grapes grow, and the grapes themselves. But the education component goes beyond that. Turks Head Wines also offers classes to help wine lovers expand their knowledge and palates.

Photo by Eric Schaeffer

“We have a classroom where we offer wine education classes, and we have multiple instructors that come in and facilitate classes on topics such as Italian wine, French wine, varietals, wine 101, and food and wine classes,” she says. Private tastings are also available.

And for those who want to be a bigger part of Turks Heads Wines, they can join the CRU Club, with exclusive access to an intimate, upstairs private wine lounge that Owen describes as a “social club for people who have a passion for wine and building a community.” She knows of nowhere else in the area like it.

Photo via Turks Head Wines

The Wines
While the grapes are grown in proven California regions, the winery has a focus on Bordeaux red varieties, the grapes that make up traditional French Bordeaux wines—Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. Most of the wines are named after the vineyards or the AVAs they're grown in; there’s no hiding the provenance of the grapes because there is no need to. 

Turks Heads’ winemaker has direct contact with all the vineyards they source from.

Photo via Turks Head Wines

“The winemaker must step on the property and look at their management process,” says Owen. “He also makes decisions on when to pick the grapes. They’re all hand-harvested and go straight into our own bins.”

Grapes are processed the day they are picked.

Photo via Turks Head Wines

In addition to the Bordeaux red varieties, Turks Head produces other wines, including four different varietals of Sauvignon Blanc (the tasting room's current best-selling variety), a Chenin Blanc, Sémillon, and its most recent addition, Barbera, a traditional red Italian grape.

Visiting
The importance placed on serving food that pairs expertly with Turks Head’s wines leads to an ever-changing tasting menu in addition to the regular food menu in the tasting room.

Chef Dave McDonald: photo via Turks Head Wines

“We give the culinary team five wines we want to highlight for the month, and they create a tasting menu based on those wines for a prix fixe wine pairing,” says Owen. There are special lunch pairings, too, on Saturdays and Sundays that include 3 (2.5-ounce) pours and 3 dishes.

And recently, in addition to the pairing menus, Turks Head has grown into a full-service restaurant with new seasonal menus, developed in collaboration with Consulting Chef Jason Cichonski of Ampere Hospitality Group, that focus on the wines first, complemented by dishes created to demonstrate how wine and food can sing together.

The tasting room is family-friendly all day on Sundays and up until 5 pm Thursday through Saturday, when the space becomes an adult-centered experience. The facility can also host events for up to 100 people.

Photo via Turks Head Wines

Hours of operation:

Tasting room hours:
Thursday: 4 PM - 9 PM
Friday: 4 PM - 9 PM
Saturday: 12 PM - 10 PM
Sunday: 12 PM - 7 PM

Bottle shop hours:
Thursday: 2 PM - 8 PM
Friday: 2 PM - 8 PM
Saturday: 12 PM - 8 PM
Sunday: 12 PM - 7 PM

Address: 120 North Church St., West Chester
Connect: Turks Head Wine on Instagram