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Freemark Abbey Winery Case

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Freemark Abbey Winery Case The Freemark Abbey Winery must decide whether to harvest their grape crop before or after an incoming storm. If the storm is light there is a chance of the grapes developing a mold, which is beneficial to the flavor and increases the wine’s value. There is also a possibility that the grapes will not become botrytised and will simply absorb water which will reduce the wine value. There are a number of options available to the winery in this situation. The grapes may be harvested immediately, resulting in a reduced revenue. This option is low risk, but also has low return as the grapes will reach a market value of $2.85 per case. If harvested and sold in bulk the grapes will be values at only $1.00 per case. If 12,000 cases are produced the total revenue will be $34,200 maximum and $12,000 minimum. The advantages of this are that the entire grape crop is not going to be lost (low risk), that there will be a guarantee of some profit, and that production can begin earlier. On the other hand there is a higher likelihood of a low return, particularly on the grapes sold in bulk. If the grapes are left on the vine and a storm does not come they will only ripen more. This option could lead to equal or greater profits than those found by harvesting immediately. The grapes left on the vine will have the potential to develop to bring in anywhere from $30000 to $46000. The disadvantages of this option would be the potential that the grapes’ sugar will not develop further, that their acid content will not develop further, or that both will not develop. This choice holds moderate risk but a higher return. If the storm arrives and the grapes are left on the vine there is a chance for very high revenue (between $24000 and $67200) but also a risk of losing the crop. Also, there is a chance that the revenue might be lower than that achieved by immediate harvest, were the grapes to not develop the mold. However, there is a relatively reasonable chance that the mold will develop. This option is high risk, but also high return. The best option is to leave the grapes on the vine. By leaving the grapes on the vine the vineyard will have a 60% chance of making higher profit than if the crops are harvested immediately. The chance of making a lower profit than that of immediate harvest is only 40%. If the grapes or wine were sold as wholesale the chance for greater profit would be 100% with the grapes left on the vine. Because of the higher probability of high return on allowing the grapes to grow, this option is superior to immediate harvest.

Appendix
Calculation of Probabilities and Revenues:
Harvest immediately:
*Note that the probability of either of these outcomes is 100%. bottled wine:
$2.851 case×12000cases=$34200 bulk wine or bulk grapes:
$1.001 case×12000cases=$12000

Wait:
Storm:
botrytised:
$8.001 case×12000-12000×0.3cases=$8.001 case×12000-3600cases=$81 case×8400cases=$67200
P$67200=Pstorm×Pbotrytised=0.5×0.4=0.2 or 20% weak and thin concentration:
$2.001 case×12000cases=$24000
P$24000=Pstorm×Pnot botrytised=0.5×0.6=0.3 or 30%
No Storm: sugar > 25%:
$3.501 case×12000cases=$42000
P$42000=Pno storm×P25% sugar=0.5×0.4=0.2 or 20% sugar 20%:
$3.001 case×12000cases=$36000
P$36000=Pno storm×P20% sugar=0.5×0.4=0.2 or 20% acidity > 0.7%:
$2.501 case×12000cases=$30000
P$30000=Pno storm×P>0.7% acid=0.5×0.2=0.1 or 10%

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