Bobby Parkerchuk had planned to step down from his post at the Winery Advocate TV months before the ‘Tastings Plagiarism’ controversy emerged, says his former Winery Advocate TV colleague.

‘He was about to retire anyway, and as this whole accusation of plagiarism was putting stress on him he decided he would go immediately’, said a coworker.

The story broke when a French blogger posted a series of evidence that damaged Parkerchuk’s reputation. Many journalists and colleagues caught Bobby red-handed using a Phrase Generator to write his wine reviews. “I couldn’t believe the guy would lie to me”, said one blogger, who wishes to remain anonymous. “I interviewed him for a story on the top 2011 wines, and he blatantly used the tool in front of me to generate his tasting notes, then denied using it.”

Bobby Parkerchuk, the wine guy, hedonist, host of Winery Advocate TV who loves points and loves the hustle, and who has been criticized by his comrades for lack of style, did not return phone calls to confirm the accusations.

The controversy started when the French blogger released a snippet of an interview, which took place somewhere in Tuscany. It was there where a famous blogger in the land of wine blobbing and poodling caught Parkerchuk red-handed:

Blogger: Tell me about your top scoring Cab and Merlot for 2011…

Bobby: Man, the #thunder is Leoni Bros Vineyards bro!  Entangles 100-proof Cool Whip elements and a snap-crackle-pop wood chip bouquet in their 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon. 99/100. Let’s cut to the chase… wood + 16% alc = 99+ pts…and the Merlot—a pulpy cheeseburger perfume and melancholy sour cream overtones are coalesced in the 1984 Merlot from Acme Vineyards bro! 99/100.  

Bobby: Bro, ask me about #CdP07 and Chinese food bro!!!

Blogger: I’d rather find out what your favorite Chenin Blanc is…

Bobby: whoa bro…A lurid halibut flavor and rare Cran-Apple undertones are coalesced in the 1987 Chenin Blanc from Jose Rodrigues Vineyards…Pure… 99+ bro! …and for sure, my second choice is the 1942 Chateau Pantalon Moulant Chenin Blanc cuz it brings delicate crack-cocaine midtones and an ass-spankin’ tasty nacho bouquet. More… 99+ thunder bro!

“Bobby was adamant about having his laptop with him at all times. During our interview, he seemed preoccupied with it—I just assumed he was running a ustream or something—no big deal.  But Bobby didn’t realize that I had clear view of his laptop screen because there was a wall mirror behind him. I was appalled when I saw this image reflecting from the mirror…”, said the blogger:

“When I called him out on it, he slammed his laptop, murmuring something like, you suck bro, 52 points to YOU, #gobuymybook and go #JETS as he ran out of the room. I don’t know what the hell he was yammering about. What a jerk.

Colleen, a coworker of Parkerchuk stated, “Normally, all of our wine writers are busy banging on the keyboard while tasting, but an eerie silence surrounds Parkerchuk’s desk. I found this odd until I realized he was simply copying and pasting phrases from the generator into a word document.”

Shortly after the French blogger posted the evidence, Flask Magazine reported that Parkerchuk resigned from Winery Advocate TV. Parkerchuk could not be reached for comment, and he has not  twittered since November 11. Further investigation is on the horizon.

For more fun, head on over to Luke Rissacher’s Phrase Generator to read more awesome random musings of nonsensical wine reviews and other crazy phrases.

“…rain…with no #THUNDER…is like cabernet…without 200% new oak…”  ~ B. Parkerchuk

Disclaimer: This post has been pre-approved and liable proofed by Dewy, Cheatem and Howe Attorneys at law LLC.  Although inspired in part by a true incident, the following story is fictional and does not depict any actual person or event.  No one was hurt, fired, kicked, accused, jailed, or acquitted at the time of publishing this post. Drink responsibly and keep it ethically clean.