We have performed a calorimetry and deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance study for a member of the liquid crystal homologous series, (n) over bar .O.(m) over bar, in bulk and confined to the 0.2 mum cylindrical pores of aluminum oxide Anopore membranes. It was shown in an ellipsometry study by Lucht and coworkers that this material shows a prewetting nematic transition at an air interface. Thermodynamically, at the Anopore solid pore walls these liquid crystals also exhibit unique wetting properties: a distinct signature in the specific heat, a "bump" at a temperature approximately 0.5 K above T-NI is found. We believe that such signature is related to the manner that the nematic liquid crystal wets the solid surfaces.