Merlot ice cream, anyone?

GARY GOUGÉR is many things at his small winery: winemaker, janitor, chef and chief bottle washer.

Now he’s adding ice cream wizard to his already-crowded business card.

Gougér owns Gougér Cellars in the Clark County community of Ridgefield, about 20 minutes north of Portland, crafting small amounts of red and white wines since 2009.

One night, he awoke with a start, realizing he could make an ice cream with his wine that has no alcohol and no added sugar. The next day, he bought a small ice cream machine.

“I made a couple of batches and let people try it,” he said. “Everybody wanted to order it right then and there, but it only makes a pint at a time.”

That’s a good problem to have, but it led to further issues. More about that in a moment.

Gougér didn’t always have a passion for winemaking. The New York native was an optometrist in Northern California for 15 years before moving to Australia to learn how to make wine.


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