GOUGER CELLARS WINERY Owner Gary Gougér sits atop his new Piaggio scooter purchased to deliver his wine varietal ice creams to Battle Ground, La Center and Ridgefield residents. Photo courtesy of Viki Eierdam
Ridgefield-based Gougér Cellars Winery has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $25,000 to purchase an ice cream machine for its non-alcoholic wine varietal ice creams. The project must be fully funded by Mon., July 7, or all money raised is returned to the backers.
Wineries in Clark County have experienced considerable growth with more set to open in the next few months. Even so, no one in the area is using their juice to create ice cream except Gary Gougér, winemaker at Gougér Cellars. In fact, in all his research, he’s found only a few other wineries nationwide making ice cream, but theirs contains 3-5 percent alcohol, limiting where it can be sold and to what age group.
Zinfandel chocolate chip, Muscat, Muscat with toasted coconut, Zinfandel, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah and Syrah are some of the flavors that have been made by Gougér Cellars with more combinations created all the time.
Gougér has been selling his ice cream for only a few months and its following continues to increase. In the first two weeks of introduction, he sold 90 pints. In a three-week period, 200 pints of Zinfandel chocolate chip were purchased. Many of those pints are consumed on his inviting roof top deck.
“People love going up there because it’s so majestic. You can see the alpacas and the mountain,” Gougér said.
Through the process that Gougér developed, he’s able to derive all the sweetness for the ice cream from the grape itself with no added sugar and no alcohol. As a result, the popularity of his ice cream line for customers younger than 21 increases with each visit.
“So when parents come in and they bring their children with them and they taste it, you can see the children licking it and licking it (the plastic sample spoon) as if they’re going to get more from the spoon,’’ Gouger said. “The ‘oohs’ and the ‘oh my gosh, how did you do this?’ It’s been an amazing adventure. I just can’t believe it.”
One night, while sleeping, Gougér awoke with the solution for how to extract all the alcohol from his wine juice. He bought a Cuisinart and an ice cream machine, made a batch and started taste-testing it with the two semi-sweet dessert wines that he makes. The positive response and enthusiasm from his customers was immediate.
He then approached Ice Cream Renaissance in downtown Vancouver to make the ice cream for him in large batches in their kitchen. That partnership worked well until the Washington State Department of Agriculture informed him that the dairy portion of the process needed to be pasteurized twice due to wording in the laws. With Gougér’s restaurant license, however, he could rent the kitchen space from Ice Cream Renaissance and make it himself. Again, that seemed a good solution until his production surpassed the point where Ice Cream Renaissance could handle their demand and Gougér’s demand in the same space. A wonderful problem for both businesses, but one that has facilitated Gougér’s need to purchase his own equipment to continue to provide his unique line of ice cream to a growing customer base.
As Gougér explains it, the nice thing about Kickstarter is that it benefits everybody. He’s able to give about the same dollar amount back to people as the amount they pledge toward the project. Individuals and businesses who successfully fund a Kickstarter campaign notice that there’s more buy-in from the public with crowd-funding as opposed to using a traditional bank loan. Backers tend to have a sense that the growth of the business is something their actions really helped create so it can be a very synergistic approach to supporting local.
Beginning June 14, Gougér will bring another innovative idea to area residents. Ice cream and wine deliveries with a $100 minimum order will be available in Battle Ground, La Center and Ridgefield. Seated on a Piaggio scooter that he recently purchased and outfitted with a pack designed to keep the ice cream frozen, Gougér will make Saturday and Sunday night deliveries wearing a flowing cape and mask – not a bit surprising for this area businessman who aims to put fun and laughter into everything he does.
To support Gougér Cellars, go to www.kickstarter.com and type ‘’Non-alcoholic wine varietal based ice cream’’ in the search field. Gougér Cellars Winery is located at 26506 NE 10th Ave., Ridgefield. For more information, go to www.gcwinery.com or call (360) 909-4707.
