# Exploring Red Wines from the Drama Region: A Chemical, Sensory, and Terroir Insight
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Sensorial Attributes of Wines  
The share chart of scores and average score graph for perceived aroma and taste qualities as well as overall approval is displayed in Figure 4. The share chart indicates a variation in the frequency scores for each cultivar among the locations. Merlot wines from Kali Vrisi and Adriani have similarly split \"Total evaluation aroma\" scores among \"slightly below average\" and \"slightly above average\" (Figure 4a). No wine from the Agora location was scored \"slightly above average\". Moreover, Mikrohori and Perihora wines from Cabernet Sauvignon and Agiorgitiko, respectively, were scored by some panelists with \"extremely light\" aromas.  
Regarding the taste, a large difference is observed in the Cabernet Sauvignon and Agiorgitiko wines from Mikrohori from the wines obtained from the rest of the locations for each cultivar, considered mostly as \"extremely light\", \"very light\", and \"moderately light\" (Figure 4b). The frequency of \"total evaluation of wine\" scores varied among the cultivars and locations. In the case of Merlot wines, although the wines were scored with values of \"slightly poor\", \"good\", and \"slightly good\" (except the Kali Vrisi location that gained scores of \"moderately good\" from some panelists), there are differences in the frequencies of these scores (Figure 4c). Additionally, wines from the highest-elevation Nevrokopi vineyard presented better taste scores than other Merlot vineyards situated in lower elevations, possibly due to the fact that increasing UV-B exposure causes phenolic compounds, like anthocyanins, to accumulate in grape skins. These substances provide thicker skins and more intense tastes by acting as protective pigments [26]. Moreover, Cabernet Sauvignon and Agiorgitiko wines from Mikrohori were evaluated with the lowest score (\"extremely poor\"). The mean score values for aroma, taste, and total evaluation of the wines revealed wines rates in the ranges of 2.3-3, 1.6-3.1, and 1.8-3.4, respectively (Figure 4d). Significant is the variation in the mean scores not only among the locations, but also among cultivars. Wines from the Mikrohori location showed the lowest score for Cabernet Sauvignon and Agiorgitiko cultivars.  
There is a correlation between the sensory evaluation of the wines and physicochemical parameters of must and wine, as revealed by the correlation coefficient shown in Table 6. Taste is correlated positively with altitude and YAN and negatively with A\({}_{620 nm}\) and color hue. Indeed, wine anthocyanins and tannins are important components of wine that greatly influence the color and taste; a high concentration of tannins can also lead to excessive astringency in wines [58]. Total evaluation aroma is positively correlated with grape must sugar content and wine alcohol level, whereas negatively with must acidity. Finally, it seems that the total evaluation of wine correlates negatively with wine TA and wine residual sugars.  
Figure 4: _Cont._Figure 4: Share chart of (**a**) total evaluation of aroma, (**b**) total evaluation of taste, (**c**) total evaluation of wine revealing a 2-way interaction between multiple response columns, and (**d**) mean score values of the wines obtained from cultivars Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Agiorgitiko grown in different locations. Similar letters above the error bars for the same parameter within the same variety do not differ (\(p<0.05\)) according to the Kruskal–Wallis test (\(p<0.05\)) followed by [PERSON]’s post hoc tests. Abbreviations: [PERSON] (Ad), Perichora (Pe), Agora (Ag), Kali Vrisi (Kv), Nevrokopi (Ne), and Mikrohori (Mi). Horizontal black line shows the evaluation mean value of 2.5.