Brief by Central Staff
Wine – December 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
The winery at the Holy Cross Abbey in Cañon City has a new owner — a former New Jersey accountant who said he was tired of the urban rat race.
Holy Cross Abbey sits on 175 acres along U.S. 50 on the east side of Cañon City. It is owned by the Benedictine Society and has been in use since 1925. The society’s ranks have been thinning as older monks die. To make money to maintain the facility, they started growing grapes four years ago, and hired Matt Cookson, a California winemaker.
However, that didn’t effect a quick turnaround, and three years ago, the monks voted to disband the monastery and then agreed to put the property up for sale for $12.5 million.
The society hoped to sell the grounds and building together, which complicated the sale of just the wine business. But a deal was negotiated.
The new owner, 44-year-old Larry Oddo, bought the winery’s assets and business name (“The Winery at Holy Cross”), and arranged a long-term lease on 10 acres of grapevines.
Oddo quit his day job on the East Coast last year and went looking for a simpler lifestyle. He and his family moved to Cañon in April before the winery deal closed. “It is a leap of faith,” he said, “but it has been the most exciting period of my life.”
The winery currently has a dozen employees and expects to sell about 7,000 cases this year; Oddo hopes to expand the business. Financing was tricky because he wasn’t getting any real estate from the Benedictines. “Wine is cyclical, and banks don’t view wine as good collateral,” he said.
