‘Inclusive’ California wine company calls out Gen Z’s reading skills — says they ‘don’t read cursive’

Add that to the list of things Gen Z won’t do.

A hip California wine company that caters to Gen Z imbibers is on a mission to break the stereotype that Zoomers don’t drink. But there’s one thing they say the generation refuses to do: Read cursive.

Wonderwerk, a natural wine brand that sells affordable bottles geared toward younger generations, says it’ll never use cursive on any of its branding — because its audience can’t read it.

Founded in 2017 by millennials Andrew Lardy and Issamu Kamide, Wonderwerk prides itself on its inclusive approach to wine.

“We make natural wine for anyone with a mouth and a cup,” the company’s website reads.

The company’s branding, with its bright colors and bold fonts, is a big departure from typical wine packaging.

“The vast majority of Gen Z and Gen Alpha don’t read cursive,” Kamide told the San Francisco Chronicle. “They’ve told us that they just block it out and don’t even attempt to read it.” 

While the wine industry suffers from plummeting sales, Wonderwerk’s business is booming.

The company doubled its production to 26,000 cases annually last year. This year, the brand produced 30,000 cases of wine. Most of their wines are sold wholesale at trendy grocers that young people frequent including Whole Foods and Erewhon.

“People say young people don’t like wine, but that is not our experience at all,” Kamide told The Chronicle. “There’s a weird disconnect between our reality and what people are reporting.” 

The founders describe their wines as “Light, good acidity, vibrant, fresh, fruity but not too fruity.”

Wonderwerk’s 1-liter bottles are sold at $25 a pop, and while the brand boasts its “natural” label, it doesn’t list its wine’s grape varieties, instead opting for titles like “Marinara” — a red blend, and “Al Fresco” — a white blend.

The brand’s wines are also labeled under the California appellation, meaning they’re from 100% California-grown grapes, a designation which can mean the grapes come from lower-cost vineyards that mass-produce wines. But the company says its young customers don’t care about those kinds of distinctions.

“That stuff actually creates a barrier,” Kamide told the Chronicle. “It can be an intimidation factor.”

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