Read the case study below and answer the questions that follow. You may make any reasonable assumptions. (50 marks)

Quality at Torres Wine

Back in 1870, Jaime Torres, having been forced to seek his fortune in Cuba when his elder brother inherited the family estates, returned to his native Catalonia. He founded the company which is now Spain's largest independently owned wine company with a turnover of around 17 million bottles of wine per year, together with around 6 million bottles of brandy. The (still family-owned) company's success is based firmly on the work it has put in to maintain the quality and consistency of its products.

This starts with the vineyards themselves. Since the 1960s they have been experimenting with matching grape varieties to the individual microclimates in their estates, planting patterns which preserve water levels in the soil and using environmentally friendly cultivation techniques such as the laser-guided plough, which eliminates the need for artificial chemical weed killers. Although much of the harvesting is still done by hand, mechanical harvesting (see picture) not only saves time and money, but also allows the fruit to be collected cool during the night and early morning, which further enhances quality. The trailers and tractors which transport the harvested grapes are unloaded into reception hoppers where precision-controlled systems, coordinated by computer electronics, enable immediate assessment of the quality and ripeness of grapes. The wines ferment in visually striking stainless-steel towers. All these vats are equipped with cooling systems to ferment the grape juice at a controlled temperature, thus preserving its natural aromas. Torres' cellars, where the red wines are aged, extend through two kilometers of cool, dark, underground galleries that house more than 11,000 oak barrels.

The use of new oak barrels for ageing the finest wines requires substantial investment, but it is an essential factor in obtaining the highest quality. The wine is then bottled in the company's on-site modern bottling plant, after which it is bottle-aged in the company's headquarters at nearby Villafranca.

1. What constitutes quality for Torres' products? Your discussion should be based on the dimensions of quality. (21 marks)
2. Briefly identify any six stages in winemaking which has a direct impact on quality of the wines produced. (12)
3. What do you think are the advantages to Torres of pursuing environmentally friendly

production? (8)

1. What are the disadvantages of implementing ISO 9001? (9)