in Provence with the Wells

For several weeks each year Patricia and Walter Wells open their 18th-century Provençal home for personalized cooking classes for a small number of participants eager to share in the food, wine, and culture of one of France's most blessed regions. Students cook with herbs, salads and vegetables from the garden, grapes from the vineyard, and olives from the groves. They sip homemade aperitifs from the orchards, and prepare roast meat and poultry in the wood oven fired with vine clippings from the vineyard. The house wine is Clos Chanteduc, the fruity, fragrant red Côtes-du-Rhône from the property. The five-day English language program includes hands-on cooking sessions led by Patricia and Walter, as well as their guided visits to markets, vineyards, shops, and local restaurants.