By Leeann Froese
UPDATED OCTOBER 20 WITH A NOTE FROM TERRY’S FAMILY:
A message from Terry's Family:
Our hearts are broken at the sudden passing of our Son, Brother, Uncle, Cousin, Godfather and friend. We would like to express how overwhelmed and grateful we are to receive the outpouring of support and love in response to this tragedy. It is so comforting in this time of immeasurable loss to read your stories, see your photos and share the wonderful memories of an exceptional and irreplaceable human being.
Terry was passionate, kind, intelligent, funny, and a million other things that will live on in our memories. Whether or not you had been in contact with him recently, please know that he loved and cherished all his friends and family, no matter how long it had been. When you had his complete attention, there was nothing like basking in the light of Terry’s presence. With that in mind, we would ask that you use this opportunity to reach out to someone you may have lost touch with, or who is alone now during this pandemic, to reconnect, to have a laugh, to share your love.
We would like to thank the healthcare professionals in London who worked so hard to save his life and diligently kept us updated from across the ocean. Your compassionate care is truly appreciated. We will continue to seek a medical explanation for how this could have happened to such a young man, with so much left to give. Ultimately, his heart was unable to continue on. With all that the healthcare systems around the world are experiencing, we were provided with a level of comfort that will never be forgotten. In these uncertain times, please advocate for the health of yourself, your family and your friends.
More than anything, Terry loved sitting down to a table heaving with good food, fine wine and wonderful company. We think the best way to honour his memory is to continue on in this tradition, opening a special bottle and raising a glass to our beloved Terry. Our hope is to come together to celebrate Terry’s life both in Vancouver and in London, as soon as it is safe to do so.
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We express our deep sadness and send condolences to Terry Threlfall’s family and friends.
Terry Threlfall left us suddenly this week at age 43 from heart failure, The community of wine around the globe is hurting, and sending so much love around.
While we were not super close with Terry, when he lived in Vancouver, we had the pleasure of working with him in a few different ways.
As a sommelier in town, we invited him to things, and we knew him via CAPS BC; and then he won sommelier of the year in 2012!
His Wine was Dynamite
The Town Hall Brands team did the packaging and the PR for his TNT wine label via our client Okanagan Crush Pad, right when we were first starting Town Hall Brands. The fall of 2013, it was one of our first projects, so it is remembered fondly.
Terry’s wine was “TNT” named after his initials (Terry Nicholas Threlfall) and to make a fun play on words. A lover of white Burgundy, he chose to make a Chardonnay. (Terry was the third top sommelier in BC invited to make a wine at Okanagan Crush Pad with the proceeds to benefit the BC Hospitality Foundation.)
Hustle and Pro
And also, when Town Hall Brands was just starting, we had no employees.
Alana Dickson (who now has Aurillia Consulting) was our contracted event person, and with her we hired Terry, along with local top sommelier Roger Maniwa, to help us implement a MAJOR multi-day project of tastings, lunches and dinners for each French wine region. SO. MANY.WINE GLASSES.
The hustle was real for our team, and that was when we saw Terry truly shine: he was hospitality personified.
Such a pro at his job – immense knowledge and passion and he had a way of bringing everyone along with him.
Wine has always been a natural fit for Terry. While his first introduction to wine was as a teen, sneaking Chardonnay from his mom’s cellar, he found that his passion was solidified while drinking wine by the litre as a backpacker in Europe. Upon arriving home from his travels, he decided to turn his passion for wine into a career.
And what a career!
Terry completed his sommelier training in Vancouver, and held positions in many of the city’s finest restaurants, including wine director at South Granville’s West. Terry soon had the opportunity to move to London, England, to work with Richard Corrigan at his flagship restaurant Lindsay House in Soho. After that, Terry spent six years as head sommelier and wine buyer at the Michelin-starred restaurant, Chez Bruce. Under his leadership, Chez Bruce won several international awards, including ‘Overall U.K. Wine Establishment of the Year’ and ‘European Wine Restaurant of the Year’. Chez Bruce also won Decanter’s 2007 Restaurant of the Year’ award and was recognized as having the U.K.’s Best Wine List by The Independent ‘Food and Drink Awards’ in 2010.
In 2011, Terry returned to Vancouver from London to join forces with Chef David Hawksworth in opening his celebrated restaurant, Hawksworth. As wine director at Hawksworth, Terry created a ground-breaking wine program that is now established as one of the most exciting in Canada.
In 2012, Terry scored at hattrick and was named Sommelier of the Year by Vancouver magazine, the Vancouver International Wine Festival, and California’s Sunset Magazine, and he was also named one of the ‘Top Foodies Under 40’ by Western Living. Terry has served as a judge in numerous local and international wine competitions. He was the first Canadian sommelier to become a regular panelist for Decanter.
Terry returned to London as the wine buyer and sommelier for Selfridges for the past five years. He was frequently interviewed by the UK press and the wine world loved what he had to say. Terry kept this prestigious position at Selfridges until his untimely passing.
Terry’s passion and enthusiasm for the wine industry was enormous and compelling. The tributes from those who knew him from around the world are justifiably pouring out for him on social media.
Please join us to raise a glass in honour of Terry. He would want us all to celebrate wine, food, family, and friends.
