First Impressions – Turks Head Wine

Have you ever had a night where you just felt tense? It happens to me sometimes when work is busy and not a lot is going on in my social life, and especially when I don’t have any particularly big plans or projects to look forward to. Doing something productive feels out of the question, but if I laze at home I feel even worse.

Those are exactly the kinds of nights when I’m like… its time for a little treat 🙂

Luckily for me, Turks Head Wine had some open seats and I’ve been looking forward to checking it out.

Honestly, it feels like a crime to post this terrible picture. I took it like I was a paparazzo as I was basically sprinting through the entrance towards my table because I like… REALLY wanted a glass of wine haha!

The Space

I’m really impressed by what Turks Head has done with this building. If you’ve lived in town for a while you may have been in here before Turks Head transformed the space. It used to be an open, airy cluster of what looked like freelance business people who would rent offices here and there piecemeal. It always felt mostly abandoned and a little awkward to visit. Now its a towering mecha for wine-lovers. You can literally look up and see oak barrels stacked to the ceiling of the third floor.

The bar is absolutely gorgeous and these beautiful, underlit faux trees are definitely iconic. I can see their silhouette becoming on of West Chester’s most recognizable examples of interior design. The first floor is painted in dusky hues, and although you can definitely tell that it used to be office space, it manages to feel extremely cozy. Its very well decorated with both furniture and art. Not to mention the warm lighting from fixtures and fireplaces. Definitely a wine-worthy atmosphere.

P.S. maybe the trees are real idk… I was too scared to touch them. Maybe I’ll ask next time I go and report back

The Wine

The first thing that I feel I should mention here is that this is not a cheap night out. The wine tastings will run you $35-$40 for 5 different wines. Husbo and I decided that we would share one and then call it a night.

We opted for the red tasting, which was $40 for five different wines 2oz each.

If you’re anything like me, I love a glass of wine, but I couldn’t blind taste different varietals and let you know what they are. What I LOVED about this tasting was that our server not only shared some information about each wine, but she also talked about the context in which she used each type of wine. She shared which was her favorite and which she drank while she is cooking or serving burgers and pizza. She spoke with such passion about each wine and also taught us about what made their premium wines special. I was absolutely pulled in as she taught us how cabernet sauvignon grapes don’t like to “get their feet wet” so the grapes for one of their reserves came from an uninhabitable mountaintop. She spent time weaving stories about the wine at our table before leaving us to taste it. It made me feel like I was on an adventure and it is oh-so-exciting to hear people speak passionately about anything. Turks Head calls their servers “Wine experts” and I definitely felt that our server was worthy of the title. She made me want to learn more about wine, and that kind of inspiration alone made me feel the higher price was worthwhile

AND I DIDNT EVEN TELL YOU ABOUT THE WINE YET

girl..

it was good.

No but seriously, each wine was different enough from the last in both aroma and flavor that you were able to really appreciate the differences between them. The differences were not subtle. The variety made you go “WOAH” that one was really unique! I think my favorite thing about them, though, was that even the ones that our wine expert warned us were high in tannins felt very drinkable, smooth, and lush

I really enjoyed the tasting experience because their wines are on the pricier side, so now I know my favorite reds and would feel confident ordering a nice 9oz pour of one of my favorites (I loved the 2022 Cabernet Franc and the 2022 BDX Reserve from McCoy Vineyard the best)

The Menu

Something else that I feel I should add is that I really appreciated the way they crafted their menu. The wine is definitely NOT local in its production, but they crafted the menu around a lot of local favorites. All of the cheese are local, as are the beers. I don’t know about the charcuterie meats that they have, but one says “Delaware” so that leads me to think they are local as well. Chocolates from eclat are on the menu. Really lovely.

First impressions…

All in all I was really impressed by Turks Head Wines. It is pricey, so when I come back it will be for one, beautiful glass of wine full of vibey atmosphere and seated at that ridiculously beautiful bar. If I had a higher budget I would absolutely splurge on their cheeses and meats. As a self proclaimed cheese lady I can tell you that the local cheeses they selected are among the best. Between the quality of the wine and the nod to local foodcrafters in our area, I feel inclined to trust them and am excited for a return visit sometime soon

You should definitely visit! They have a VIP lounge upstairs that’s open to the public through December and lots of wine events coming up soon. If you know somebody that loves wine, this is a perfect place to take them for something really special