Tom Kundig: Mission Hill Winery

Massive wooden doors open into an elegant hall known as the "Chagall Room" after the tapestry by Marc Chagall which it displays: it took Anthony von Mandl two years to decide which item from his art collection would best suit the room. The study centre also contains a small theatre where visitors are shown a multi-media presentation showing the estate's countless vineyards and illustrating the winemaking process.
One of Mission Hill Winery's outstanding features is its Estate Room, where visitors are invited to taste samples from a vast collection of excellent wines; the room also houses a number of items from the family's art collection, including a large Greek amphora dating from the fourth century BC, 17th century wine bottles and a pair of Baroque wooden columns.
The Estate Room offers access to a magnificent patio with a view out over the expanse of vineyards offering unique panoramas of Okanagan Lake and Valley. Next to the patio is a verdant amphitheatre where cultural events are held in summer.
Those in search of a moment of tranquillity can go to the loggia, with its walls like slabs with clearly visible veins; the barrel-vaulted roof is covered with hand-welded copper plates. Leaving the loggia, the visitor discovers a small square containing a beautiful 17th century Renaissance fountain.
But the highlight of any visit to the winery is the wine cellars housing Anthony von Mandl's personal wine collection.
Cut out of volcanic rock, the wine cellars are lit naturally by a small round window in the roof. In the cellars the visitor breathes in an atmosphere of profound serenity.
The wine cellars can hold about eight hundred barrels. Humidity levels are kept under control at all times for perfect conservation of the wine. The ideal climatic conditions and hard work of the winery staff produce the top quality wines which have made the winery famous all over the world.

Floriana De Rosa