Prescott Vanmeyer III, also known as @unemployedwineguy on YouTube
, Instagram, and TikTok, is (as the name suggests) a sommelier who lost his job as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic and has been forced to resort to reviewing (usually) bottom-shelf alcoholic beverages on the internet to make ends meet. As the series of reviews progress, we gradually learn his backstory: his marriage to a woman named Abby is failing and he is forced to take refuge at the home of his brother, Chadwick, not always with his permission. As of now, he lives in the house of his intern/assistant Dalton, the only other character to ever appear in his videos.
Sarcasm and bitterness ooze from all of Vanmeyer's reviews, but the facade never quite cracks as he soldiers on. He takes requests, which he has often been shown to regret.
The character is written and played by Austin-based actor/comedian Jonathan Flanders. He went viral when the YouTube algorithm seized on his character's review of Everclear grain alcohol, and he's been chugging along ever since.
These videos contain examples of:
- The Alcoholic: There are hints in many videos implying that the reviews are really an excuse for him to indulge in his alcoholism.
- The Artifact: Prescott has continued sommeliering from home even after the pandemic, though his unstable life suggests he would have lost his job anyway.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: His Valentine's Day review of Château Husson Châteauneuf-du-Pape shows that despite his chaotic personal life, he does know his stuff. He not only pronounces the name of the wine flawlessly, but he briefly describes the French region and gives a solid, straightforward review of the wine, which he rates highly. Then it turns out the "aspirin" his roommate had given him earlier was actually Xanax.
- Catchphrase: "Prescott Vanmeyer here, sommeliering from home". (Even when he's not at his own home.)
- Fake Aristocrat: He continues to dress and act like a yuppie despite clear signs that he's in a pathetic situation.
- The Ghost: His estranged wife Abby and brother Chadwick are never seen. In fact no character other than Prescott ever appears.
- Riches to Rags: A formerly successful yuppie who lost most of his stuff in a divorce and is forced to go couchsurfing at his friends' or relatives' places while reviewing bottom-shelf booze to make ends meet.
- The Thing That Would Not Leave: He is, presumably, to his brother Chadwick.
- Waxing Lyrical: In his review of Hampton Water Rosé, he liberally quotes Bon Jovi songs (as Jon Bon Jovi runs the brand with his son). Toward the end of the review he drops all subtlety and just starts singing.
