Art of Wine

Art of Wine is an annual grand tasting wine festival held each summer at Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas — now in its 23rd year, the one-night event draws more than 100 vendors and pours hundreds of wines alongside food from area restaurants. The 2025 edition is scheduled for Friday, July 11, from 8–11 p.m., with General Admission priced at $95, an Express Pass available for $25, and a Reserve Room upgrade at $225.

The festival's format distinguishes it from typical outdoor wine fairs. Held inside and around Walton Arts Center — a performing arts venue that manages a 1,200-seat auditorium, a 200-seat black box theater, and the 10,000-seat Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion — Art of Wine layers wine tasting with live entertainment and art activations. The 2024 event poured 482 wines and offered bites from 20 restaurants, plus spirits, beers, and zero-proof samples. Participating distributors and wineries have included Arkansas producers such as POST Winery, Sassafras Springs Vineyard and Winery, Wiederkehr Wine Cellars, Deep Branch Winery, and Urban Cellar Winery, alongside national and regional distributors. Restaurant participants in 2024 included Conifer, Theo's, Tusk and Trotter, and more than a dozen other Fayetteville-area establishments.

For first-time attendees, the $25 Express Pass grants entry at 7:30 p.m. — 30 minutes before General Admission doors open at 8 p.m. — which is worth considering given the volume of vendors. The $225 Reserve Room ticket provides premium access for guests who want a more curated experience. Art of Wine is a fundraiser: proceeds benefit Walton Arts Center's arts education programs, which provide live performing arts experiences to over 25,000 students and educators annually at no cost to participants.

Arkansas does not have a widely recognized wine AVA, but the state has a growing number of estate wineries, several of which pour at Art of Wine each year. Wiederkehr Wine Cellars, one of the state's oldest producers, and POST Winery represent the range of Arkansas winemaking on offer, giving attendees a chance to sample regional bottles alongside national selections in a single evening.