Epilayers of the previously hypothetical zinc-blende MnTe have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Epitaxial layers (0.5 μm thick) of MnTe were characterized using x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy; optical reflectance measurements indicate a band gap of ∼3.2 eV. A series of strained single quantum well structures was fabricated with zinc-blende MnTe forming the barrier to CdTe quantum well regions; photoluminescence spectra indicate optical transitions corresponding to strong electron and hole confinement.