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The Entrance Arch: with the 12 storey Bell tower in background - 1730 Mission Road in Westbank - January 19, 2011.

The entrance arch looking west toward the Bell tower at the other end of the main plaza. On a clear crisp evening of December 10, 2000, the bells of Mission Hill first rang. Since then, they have been heard world-wide and the Okanagan wine industry has been transformed. Stirring a sense of nostalgia, the peal of bells represents a time and place when people came together to celebrate life's milestones. Standing as a reminder of the Old World craft of winemaking unchanged throughout millennia, the tower is a legacy to the past and a landmark for the future. Handcast at the Paccard bell foundry in Annecy, France - the first for a winery in the world - they have also become an icon for the Valley. Overlooking Okanagan Lake, the 12-storey bell tower pays homage to proprietor Anthony von Mandl's family. Each of the four heavy bronze bells (the largest weighs almost 800 kilos), are dedicated to a member of Anthony's immediate family. The bells also link the Okanagan globally. Among other famous sites Paris's Sacre Coeur church features Paccard bells, as does New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral.

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