Turks Head Wines is expanding into full lunch and dinner service this week at its West Chester tasting room, built around a wine-first philosophy that inverts how most restaurants approach a menu. Instead of building dishes first and pairing wine after the fact, Turks Head Wines starts with the bottle and works backward, designing food specifically to highlight what’s already in the glass.

Turks Head Wines’ Wine-First Philosophy

Founder and Level 3 Certified Sommelier Allison Owen selects the wines she wants guests to experience before working with newly appointed Executive Chef Dave McDonald to build seasonal dishes around each varietal’s character — a reversal of the usual chef-first, wine-second restaurant model. “We begin with the wine and build every plate around it,” Owen said. Every dish on the new menu comes with two recommended pairings, giving guests a direct way to taste how the same plate shifts depending on what’s poured alongside it.

The seasonal menus were developed with Consulting Chef Jason Cichonski of Ampere Hospitality Group. McDonald described the food’s role as secondary to the wine by design: “We’re not trying to compete with the wine — we’re trying to elevate it.”

What’s on the New Turks Head Wines Menu

Dinner standouts include a confit duck leg with cherry gastrique, beets, black garlic, and sunflower crunch ($36), paired with either a 2022 BDX Reserve from McCoy Vineyard or a 2023 Merlot from Olson Vineyard. A seared scallop dish with watercress and chorizo vinaigrette ($26) comes paired with a 2023 Sauvignon Blanc or a 2024 Melon, while a sweet corn agnolotti in brown butter ($24) pairs with two different Sauvignon Blanc bottlings from separate vineyards.

Lunch leans toward sandwiches built the same way — a porchetta sandwich with broccoli rabe and salsa verde ($18) and a chilled shrimp roll with lemon aioli and pickled fennel ($21) both pair with Sauvignon Blanc from Suisun Valley and Sonoma Valley respectively. Oysters, steak tartare au poivre, artisan cheeses, and charcuterie round out the rest of the menu, alongside local beers, classic cocktails, and zero-proof wine and beer options for non-drinkers.

There’s something satisfying about a menu built this deliberately — where a glass of Merlot was chosen before the duck it’s served with, and every bite is engineered to make the wine taste better than it did a sip ago. Turks Head Wines has spent two years turning West Chester into a real wine destination; full lunch and dinner service just makes it a reason to stay for the afternoon. Full menus and reservation details are available at turksheadwines.com.

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Allan Lane

Philadelphia born and bred, Allan Lane is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of digital magazines. He launched his first publication, SportBikes Inc Magazine in 2010, followed by dosage MAGAZINE in 2019. Recently, Allan launched his third online publication, Club For Man. As a journalist, Allan covers fashion, lifestyle, culture, art, and motorcycles.

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