## 3 Results and Discussion
### Quantitative Analysis of Volatile Compounds  
A total of 31 volatile compounds were quantified in the nine wine samples (Table 3). The profile includes 14 esters, six alcohols, five acids, and six others. Esters were found as the most diversified group, while both alcohol and acids were present in abundance. The compounds that primarily contributed to the profiles were: ethyl acetate (4106 to 6904 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\text{$\mu$g/L}}\)), ethyl benzoate (1631 to 4928 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\text{$\mu$g/L}}\)), isobutanol (7515 to 16,475 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\text{$\mu$g/L}}\)), isoamyl alcohol (23,904 to 30,073 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\text{$\mu$g/L}}\)), benzyl alcohol (753 to 2604 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\text{$\mu$g/L}}\)), phenylethyl alcohol (2752 to 4108 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\text{$\mu$g/L}}\)), and benzoic acid (47,267 to 72,760 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\text{$\mu$g/L}}\)). The effects of the factors (cultivar and vniification) on volatiles were analysed by the two-way ANOVA (Table 3), showing vniification had an impact on 23 out of 31 compounds, while cultivar had a significant effect on 18 out of 31 compounds, indicating vniification methods have more influence on volatiles than cultivars. The results also show some of the identified compounds (isobutyl acetate, ethyl methylbutyrate and pentanal) with no significant difference in concentrations (\(p>0.05\)), regardless of cultivars or vniification methods. The contribution of one specific volatile compound to the perception of the aroma depends not only on the concentration of the volatile compound itself but also on its odour threshold value. Regarding this, we examined the threshold of the compounds and listed the aroma-active volatiles in Table 4 (OAVs \(>1\)). From the analysis, 13 volatiles potentially made the highest contribution to the aroma profile of the samples with OAVs \(>10\), including phenylethyl alcohol (OAV: 183453-273855), \(\beta\)-damascenone (OAV: 1069-7085), benzyl alcohol (OAV: 627-2170), ethyl methylbutyrate (OAV: 785-1324), ethyl acetate (OAV: 821-1381), ethyl butyrate (OAV: 304-531), ethyl hexanoate (OAV: 42-141), isoamylalcohol (OAV: 96-116), methylbutyric acid (OAV: 29-54), ethyl benzoate (OAV: 16-49), isobutanol (OAV: 21-46), geraniol (OAV: 15-24) and \(\alpha\)-terpineol (OAV: 8-17). These volatiles were responsible for the fruity and floral aroma (Table 4). Except for \(\beta\)-damascenone and geraniol, 11 out of the above 13 aroma-active volatiles have been reported to be present in cranberry fruits [(43; 44)], indicating they are cranberry-derived compounds contributing to the characteristic cranberry aroma. Despite these compounds being present in both the cranberry fruit and wines, their role in aroma perception is not the same. Taking the most prevalent aroma contributors as an example, namely phenylethyl alcohol, benzyl alcohol, ethyl methylbutyrate, and ethyl acetate, although they were identified as the main fruity and floral aroma contributors in cranberry wines with the OAVs from 627 to 273855, they were not crucial volatile contributors to the aroma of cranberry fruit with OAVs as low as \(<1\) in the literature [(43)]. The discrepancy of OAVs for the above compounds indicates that the compounds may originate from both fruit and wine fermentation. However, the contribution from the fermentation should be the major one as the OAVs were much higher in wine samples. It is known that the main aromas (esters and alcohols) in wine are generally produced through the yeast pathways with esters produced from lipid metabolism, and fused alcohols from the synthesis of amino acids and proteins [(45)]. Though \(\beta\)-damascenone was rarely reported from cranberry, it has been well studied in red wine as a major contributor for rose aroma, despite its low concentration (1-1.5 \(\mathrm{\SIUnitSymbolMicro\text{$\mu$g/L}}\) in red wine) [(17)]. In red wine, \(\beta\)-damascenone is a grape-derived compound, as found in grape skins.