Join Tusk & Trotter and Special Collections for 'The Homestead Series'

Thomas B. Post

Post wines will be featured at the upcoming Homestead Series event, "Exploring Arkansas' Orchards and Vineyards." Post Winery is nestled in the Arkansas River Valley, in Altus, Arkansas.

"The Homestead Series: Celebrating and Preserving the Culinary History of the Natural State" continues at 6 p.m. next Monday, Aug. 17, with Luke Holcombe, winemaker at Post Winery in Altus. The event benefits University Libraries' Special Collections publication, Arkansauce: The Journal of Arkansas Foodways.

Monday's theme is "Exploring Arkansas' Orchards and Vineyards," and the tasting menu includes Post Red Muscadine pickled deviled eggs, a summer salad featuring Post White Muscadine buttermilk dressing, Post Sangria braised short ribs with purple hull pea succotash, and a Post Blush Niagara poached pear with High South granola, mixed berries, and sorghum ice cream, among other delicacies. 

Holcombe has been at Post Familie Vineyards since 2010 and has been studying grapevines since high school in the Central Valley of California. He graduated from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo in 2007 with a degree in pomology and worked as assistant winemaker at McManis Family Vineyard, a premium vineyard and winery in Ripon, California, before becoming winemaker at Post Winery. Post is located in Altus in the Arkansas River Valley.

Earlier this year, the University of Arkansas Libraries' Special Collections Department teamed up with the award winning Bentonville restaurant, Tusk & Trotter, for this special series. Each event features a presentation on the extensive roles food and beverage play in shaping Arkansas culture, followed by a themed dinner, complementing the topic and prepared by chef Rob Nelson. A portion of the proceeds from each event, all held at Tusk & Trotter restaurant, benefit Arkansauce: The Journal of Arkansas Foodways.

Arkansauce is published once a year by Special Collections and each issue features a special guest editor. Last year's issue was edited by Kat Robinson, the communications manager for the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism's tourism division and a popular food and travel writer. Kane Webb of Little Rock is the guest editor for the forthcoming 2015 issue, which will hit mailboxes soon. To learn more about Special Collections or Arkansauce, contact Tim Nutt, head of Special Collections, at 479-575-8443 or email specoll@uark.edu.

Tickets to the events are $50 each and $10 from each ticket purchased is donated to Arkansauce. Seating is limited, so contact Tusk & Trotter at 479-269-4494 or lindsey@tuskandtrotter.com to make your reservation. Check out Tusk & Trotter's facebook page and events page for their latest updates, or visit Post Winery's facebook page for more details.

Still upcoming in "The Homestead Series": Sept. 28, "Tracing the Roots of Arkansas' Restaurant Culture" with food blogger Kat Robinson; and Nov. 23, "Snout to Tail."