Application of non-supervised pattern recognition techniques to classify Cabernet Sauvignon wines from the Balkan region based on individual phenolic compounds

•Phenolic compound composition of 16 Cabernet Sauvignon wines from the Balkan region analysed.•HPLC, spectroscopy as well as statistical analysis used to differentiate red wines.•Phenolic content depends on agricultural practices, geography, winemaking technique.•Multivariate statistical techniques applied to evaluate spatial variations in wines.•Similar agro-climatic characteristics showed shorter clustering distance.

Phenolic compounds in sixteen Cabernet Sauvignon wines from different wine-growing sub-regions in the Balkan region were investigated using HPLC with DAD and fluorescence detector and spectroscopic analysis, as well as statistical PC/F and cluster analysis. The HPLC analysis of investigated red wines showed that the content of total hydroxybenzoic acids, detected at 280 nm, was the highest in wines from Tikveš wine-growing subregion, Macedonia (127–140 mg L−1). Total hydroxycinnamic acids, detected at 320 nm, were the highest in wines from Župa wine-growing subregion, Serbia (43–45 mg L−1). The concentration of total flavonoids (flavan-3-ols, flavonols, flavons and flavanon), detected at 280, 360 and 322/275 nm, respectively, was the highest in wine from Katarzyna Estate wine-growing subregion, Bulgaria (167 mg L−1). Finally, the concentration of total anthocyanins, detected at 520 nm, was the highest in wine from Šumadija wine-growing subregion, Serbia (1463 mg L−1). The results of PCA and cluster analysis together confirmed that the content of phenolic compounds in Cabernet Sauvignon wines depends on agro-climatic factors, oenological practice in different wineries and the growing season in the Balkan region that were investigated. The areas in the Balkan region in this study with similar agro-climatic characteristics showed shorter clustering distance, indicating similar phenol profiling in the red wines tested.