10 Catholic-Owned Breweries and Wineries You Need to Try (Plus 2 Bonus Picks)
Monks invented beer as we know it. These Catholic breweries and wineries are carrying on the tradition — and a few of them are still run by monks.
There is a persistent myth that Catholicism and alcohol exist in tension. The opposite is true. The Catholic Church has been the single greatest institutional force in the history of brewing and winemaking.
Benedictine and Trappist monks perfected European brewing techniques in the Middle Ages. Monks developed champagne (Dom Perignon was, in fact, a monk). Monastic vineyards in France, Germany, and Italy laid the foundation for the modern wine industry. The sacrament itself requires wine. And during Lent, monks famously brewed strong "liquid bread" — doppelbock beers that sustained them through weeks of fasting.
Catholics did not just tolerate alcohol. They refined it, blessed it, and turned it into an art form.
That tradition is alive in the United States. The Discover Catholic Business directory lists 620 businesses in the beer and wine category. Among them are abbey breweries, monastery vineyards, Catholic family wineries, and craft operations that take their faith as seriously as their fermentation.
Here are 10 of the best — plus two bonus picks.
Every week, we profile Catholic-owned businesses doing remarkable work. If you're not subscribed yet, join 600+ Catholics who get these stories first — free, straight to your inbox.
1. Tridentine Brewing Company — Madison, Wisconsin
"Braciare ad majorem Dei gloriam" — Brewing beer for the Greater Glory of God.
Tridentine Brewing is a family-owned craft brewery founded by Jeff Alcorn and his sons Trevor and Cameron. The name references the Traditional Latin Mass, and their motto borrows from the Jesuit Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam — a statement of intent that this is not just a business but a vocation.
The story starts with Jeff's father-in-law, Ken Solecki, a WWII veteran who taught the family homebrewing. What began as a kitchen hobby grew into a dedicated home brewery by 2019, and after a decade of perfecting recipes, Tridentine partnered with Karben4 Brewing in Madison for commercial production.
The beer names tell you everything: Dies Irae (Imperial Stout, named for the Latin hymn of judgment), Bonifest (a Marzen honoring St. Boniface), and Cristeros (a Mexican Lager honoring the Catholic resistance fighters of 1920s Mexico). This is Catholic identity expressed through craft — faith, family, country, and tradition in every pint.
Find Tridentine Brewing on DCB →
2. Benedictine Brewery at Mount Angel Abbey — St. Benedict, Oregon
The monks of Mount Angel Abbey brew beer that may be the only beer in America to receive a priestly blessing at every stage of production.
Located in St. Benedict, Oregon (yes, the town is named after the saint), the brewery continues a centuries-old monastic tradition. The beers are crafted on the abbey grounds, and the brewery serves as a gathering point for both the monastic community and visitors.
The name is not marketing. It is a description. This is a Benedictine brewery, at a Benedictine abbey, brewing beer the way Benedictines have for over a thousand years.
Find Benedictine Brewery on DCB →
3. Country Monks Brewing — Subiaco, Arkansas
The Benedictine monks of Subiaco Abbey brew specialty craft beer in the tradition of German Catholic brewing. The abbey was founded by German monks in 1878, and the brewing tradition connects directly to that heritage.
All profits go to the care of elderly monks — a detail that reframes every pint. The tap room is open to visitors, and the setting (a working Benedictine abbey in the Arkansas Ozarks) is unlike any brewery experience in the country.
Find Country Monks Brewing on DCB →
4. Benedict's Brew Works — Erie, Pennsylvania
This one is unique: Benedict's Brew Works is a craft brewery on the grounds of a women's monastic community — believed to be the only one of its kind in the United States.
The brewery offers craft beers and an on-site restaurant, with proceeds supporting the Benedictine Sisters. It proves that the monastic brewing tradition is not limited to monks — and that a community of women religious can run a brewery that holds its own against any craft operation in the country.
Find Benedict's Brew Works on DCB →
5. New Clairvaux Vineyard — Vina, California
The Trappist monks of New Clairvaux Abbey in Northern California inherited farmland once owned by Leland Stanford. They planted a vineyard in 2000 on soil that had been producing grapes for over a century.
The abbey also houses a medieval chapter house — actual 12th-century stones shipped from Spain and reassembled on the property. The combination of Trappist monks, California wine country, Stanford's old land, and a medieval ruin makes New Clairvaux one of the most remarkable Catholic sites in America, period.
The wines are produced from estate-grown grapes, and the monks also harvest prunes and walnuts from the property.
Find New Clairvaux Vineyard on DCB →
Know a Catholic who loves craft beer or good wine? Forward this article to them — they'll thank you. Every share helps more people discover these businesses and the Catholics behind them.
6. The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey — Canon City, Colorado
On the grounds of Holy Cross Abbey in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, this winery has been producing Colorado wines since 2002. The tasting room offers views of the abbey grounds and the surrounding mountains — arguably the most scenic winery setting in the state.
The wines are made from Colorado-grown grapes, and the operation serves as both a revenue source for the abbey and a bridge between the monastic community and visitors. If you are ever driving through southern Colorado, this is a mandatory stop.
Find The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey on DCB →
7. Trinitas Cellars — Napa, California
Founded by Tim and Stephanie Busch, Trinitas Cellars sits on the Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa Valley. The name — from the Latin for Trinity — signals the winery's Catholic identity.
The Busches are prominent Catholic philanthropists, and Trinitas produces wines that the founders describe as "Catholic-inspired" — capturing exceptional flavor while carrying a deeper mission. This is Napa-caliber wine with a faith foundation, and it holds its own against secular neighbors in one of the most competitive wine regions in the world.
Find Trinitas Cellars on DCB →
8. Delmare Family Winery — Leesburg, Virginia
John Delmare moved his family from California to Virginia specifically for the state's strong Catholic community. He planted a vineyard in 1999 and began producing wine that reflects both the Virginia terroir and the family's Catholic heritage.
Virginia wine country is booming, and Delmare Family Winery is part of a Catholic presence in the state's wine scene that most people do not know about. The winery offers tastings and events on the property.
Find Delmare Family Winery on DCB →
9. Casanel Vineyards — Leesburg, Virginia
Also in Leesburg, Casanel Vineyards was founded by Casey and Nelson DeSouza — the name combines their first names. They planted eight acres of vines in 2006 and opened the winery in 2008.
The DeSouzas are Catholic, and the winery's identity is woven into the family's faith. Casanel produces Virginia wines from estate-grown grapes and has become a destination in Loudoun County's wine corridor. Two Catholic wineries in the same Virginia town is not a coincidence — it reflects the Catholic community that drew the Delmares and DeSouzas to the area in the first place.
Find Casanel Vineyards on DCB →
10. Schaendorf Brewing Company
Schaendorf Brewing Company is a Catholic-owned craft brewery that represents the broader landscape of Catholic brewing — lay Catholics who bring their faith and their craft together in a single business.
The Catholic brewing tradition does not require a monastery. It requires intention, quality, and the understanding that good beer — like good wine — is a gift to be shared, not merely consumed.
Find Schaendorf Brewing Company on DCB →
Bonus: Lombardi Brewing Company — Milwaukee, Wisconsin
You cannot make a list of Catholic breweries without including Milwaukee — the city built by German and Polish Catholic immigrants who brought their brewing traditions with them. Lombardi Brewing carries that heritage forward from its taproom on Mt. Vernon Avenue. Founded by John Lombardi in honor of his grandfathers, the brewery produces bold, authentic beers including the Hail Mary German Style Wheat and the Eschweiler Pils. If you are in Milwaukee, this is the Catholic beer city doing what Catholic beer cities do.
Find Lombardi Brewing on DCB →
Like what you just read? This took 20+ hours of research. Paid subscribers make it possible for us to keep profiling Catholic businesses and building the directory. For less than a pint of craft beer, you can support this work all month.
A Note on Spencer Brewery (2013-2022)
Any article about Catholic brewing in America must acknowledge Spencer Brewery — the only Trappist brewery ever to operate in the Western Hemisphere. Run by the monks of St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts, it was one of just 14 breweries in the world to carry the "Authentic Trappist Product" designation. Spencer brewed Belgian-style ales within the monastery walls from 2013 until its closure in 2022. The monks continue to operate Trappist Preserves, but the brewery chapter has ended. Spencer proved that American monks could compete at the highest level of craft brewing — and its legacy lives on in the monastic breweries that remain.
The Tradition Continues
From Benedictine abbeys in Oregon to family wineries in Virginia to a Catholic craft brewery in Wisconsin named after the Latin Mass, Catholic brewing and winemaking in America is more vibrant than most people realize.
The 620 beer and wine businesses in the Discover Catholic Business directory include everything from monastery tap rooms to neighborhood pubs, wine shops to vineyard estates. The ones listed here are starting points — the most story-rich, mission-driven, and distinctive operations in the category.
But the full list is worth exploring. Every one of these businesses carries forward a tradition that monks began in the Middle Ages — the conviction that the good things of the earth, crafted with care and shared with joy, are a form of praise.
Browse all 620 Catholic beer & wine businesses at discovercatholicbusiness.com/browse?category=beer-wine →
Help us build the Catholic economy. Paid subscribers fund the research, the directory, and the mission. Free subscribers get the articles — paid subscribers make them possible.
Have a favorite Catholic brewery or winery we missed? Reply to this email and tell us — we'll add it to the directory.
Sources: Discover Catholic Business, Tridentine Brewing, Lombardi Brewing, Mount Angel Abbey, Subiaco Abbey, Benedict's Brew Works, New Clairvaux Vineyard, Holy Cross Abbey Winery, Trinitas Cellars, International Trappist Association