COSAM News Articles 2015 April Microbiology Club hosts Cheese and Wine Field Trip!

Microbiology Club hosts Cheese and Wine Field Trip!

Published: 04/07/2015

Release Short Summary: Students in the Auburn University Microbiology Club enjoyed an outing on Saturday, April 4^th, to visit local businesses outside of Notasulga, AL that make goat cheeses and wines. The Bulger Creek goat farm was the first visit where students could pet, hold and feed baby goats (“kids”), had a tour of the goat milking operations where a few students like Stephen Ghavam practiced their hand at goat milking, and then had a tour of cheese making and got to taste several goat cheeses. The chèvre was the biggest hit! Next students visited the Whippoorwill Vineyards where they had a tour of the vineyards and the winery (see Robert Williams and Katie Goebel at the Wine Tanks) before sampling the different available wines. At each visit students learned about the microbiology issues faced by business owners, such as how they pasteurize goat milk, the use of starter cultures for goat cheeses, the pathogen pressure that influences grape varieties that will grow in the area, and how wine is fermented and aged.