For a long time, the wine industry has had a habit of talking to itself.

We describe wines with tasting notes that often require a separate dictionary, obsess over regions and classifications, and sometimes forget that the most important question is also the simplest:

Do people actually want to drink it?

For those already immersed in wine, the language of terroir, appellations and tasting notes can be useful. But increasingly, some of the most exciting producers are focusing on something else entirely: drinkability.

Not in the sense of making simple wines. In the sense of making wines that invite another glass, suit real occasions and connect with people instinctively rather than intellectually.

Few producers embody this shift better than California's Wonderwerk.

Founded by Andrew Lardy and Issamu Kamide, Wonderwerk approaches wine less like a traditional winery and more like a modern beverage company. Rather than asking consumers to learn the language of wine, they start with a simpler question: what do people actually want to drink?

That might sound obvious, but in wine it's still a surprisingly radical idea.

The result is wines that lean into flavour, accessibility and fun without sacrificing quality. Organic and sustainably farmed fruit, spontaneous fermentations and a light touch in the cellar are all part of the picture. The difference is in how they're framed. Wonderwerk talks about flavour, occasion and enjoyment rather than expecting consumers to decode appellations and tasting notes.

We're seeing this shift play out across our shelves.

Wonderwerk's Big Orange and Big Juicy are obvious examples—wines that tell you exactly what you're getting before you've even opened them and taken a sip. But they're far from alone.

Take Unkel's Life's A Beach Orange. It's bright, textural and immediately appealing, offering an accessible gateway into orange wine without requiring a deep dive into skin-contact theory. Or Doom Juice Rouge, a juicy, chillable red that prioritises pleasure and drinkability over prestige and tradition.

The same thinking shows up in alternative formats. Delinquente's pét nat cans have found a loyal following not because they're trying to reinvent wine, but because they fit naturally into the way people actually drink. Portable, approachable and full of flavour, they meet drinkers where they are.

What links these producers isn't grape variety, region or technique. It's a shared understanding that wine doesn't need to be complicated to be interesting.

None of this means classic wine styles are disappearing. Great Burgundy, Barolo and Riesling will always have a place. But the definition of what wine can be is expanding.

Orange wine, chilled reds, pét nat, alternative packaging and lower-alcohol styles are no longer niche curiosities. They're becoming part of everyday wine culture because they offer something people increasingly value: wines that are enjoyable, versatile and easy to connect with.

And in the end, that’s where the shift is really visible, not in how wines are defined, or how much detail sits behind them, but in how they’re actually being chosen and enjoyed. In what gets opened without overthinking, what disappears a little faster than expected, and what quietly earns its place on the table again and again.

Because for all the language, structure and history wine carries, the simplest test is still the most telling: did people want another glass?