How Debbie Trenholm turned her love of wine into a celebration of Canadian flavour
Career16.06.2025
When it comes to the “buy Canada” movement, you could say Debbie Trenholm was ahead of the curve.
For more than two decades, she’s been the ultimate matchmaker – connecting Canadians with locally made wines, cheeses, coffees, and ciders through her business, The Savvy Company.
“It’s like every day at our office is Canada Day,” joked Trenholm. “And it has been for the past 20 years.”
But long before she was pairing wine with cheese and Canadians with local makers, Trenholm was working in an entirely different industry – high-tech.
“I started off at Corel, like a lot of folks in Ottawa did,” she said. “And while I was doing a lot of corporate entertaining, I started to get curious about wine. Not just drinking it, but understanding it.”
That interest prompted Trenholm to take a local Sommelier accreditation program at Algonquin College, further fueling her interest in the world of wine. But, it wasn’t until she began her Executive MBA sometime later that she saw the business opportunity in front of her.
“The a-ha moment for me was actually a quote from Inniskillin Winery co-founder Donald Ziraldo, where he said, ‘What we need is more Canadians promoting Canadian wine to Canadians,'” she explained. “I remember thinking, ‘Well, I am Canadian. I love wine. I’ve got the sommelier training. Why not me?'”
Oh, Canada!
Fast-forward to today and Savvy Company has grown from a wine-focused boutique biz to a full-on Canadian taste experience.
From cheeses you won’t spot on grocery store shelves to small-batch ciders and micro-roasted coffee beans, everything is handpicked by the Savvy team and proudly Canadian. Whether it’s landing in a subscriber’s monthly box or being poured at one of Savvy’s signature tasting events, each product tells a delicious, homegrown story.
And now, with Canadians experiencing a surge in national pride, and several provinces pulling American alcohol from the shelves, Trenholm says she’s seeing an increase in customers seeking Canadian alternatives.
“There’s been a tremendous shift,” she said. “The whole environment has opened up – not just for us, but for the wineries and cideries we work with.”
She’s even hearing it from her corporate clients. “Just the other day, someone called to say, ‘Usually we’d send American wine in our gifts, but this year we want Canadian,'” she said. “That’s music to my ears.”
There are also more options for everyone to explore, as Canada now boasts over 800 wineries coast to coast – more than 300 of them in Ontario alone.
And as we head into the summer months – cue patio season – Trenholm is eager to see that Canadian buying pride continue.
“I think we should all be interested in discovering something new,” she said. “That’s how we’re going to bolster this national energy and continue to support local. Create new habits, find new favourites and don’t be afraid of going outside your white-wine comfort zone!”
