Holy Cross Abbey, Benedictine abbey in Cañon City, United States

Holy Cross Abbey is a four-story brick structure with Gothic Revival architecture laid out in a modified cruciform design, situated in a valley setting near Cañon City. The property includes the original monastic buildings plus various support structures spread across 180 acres of grounds.

Two Benedictine monks founded the monastery in 1886 and eventually settled in Cañon City in 1924 after moving through several Colorado locations. This new location provided the foundation for the community's sustained presence through much of the 20th century.

The abbey's name changed when the community moved to Cañon City in 1924 and was raised to abbey status. Its boarding school for boys, the Abbey School, closed in 1985 after decades of operation. The monks' winemaking, first attempted after the 1924 move, was revived in 2000 with a professional viticulturist, and wine was produced from 2001.

The monastery closed in September 2006, so the abbey buildings are not open as a monastery; the public point of contact is the winery tasting room on the former monastic land, which opened in 2002. In spring and summer you can sit in the garden among the vines below the Rocky Mountains; in winter, tasting takes place beside a fireplace. The winery also runs a summer VIP wine and cheese tasting.

The winery that opened in 2002 is a separate business: the Benedictines had no hand in creating or running it, and it merely took "Holy Cross Abbey" into its name after buying land from the monastic community. The monks' own vineyard venture began in 2000, when about 20 mostly elderly monks entrusted production to a professional viticulturist who made the first wine in 2001.