## 3 Results and Discussion
### Contents of Phenolic Compounds in Croatian Wines
#### 3.1.2 Flavan-3-ols, Anthocyanins, and Stilbenes in Selected Red and White Wines  
According to the results presented in Table 4, catechin, epicatechin, and their dimers (type B proanthocyanidins) were highly represented polyphenols in red wines. As for phenolic acids, Croatian wines of the Babic (rBS) and Plavac Mali (rPI and rPD) grape varieties were the richest in monomeric and dimeric flavan-3-ols (97.9-140.0 mg/L), while Cabernet Sauvignon wine from the Croatian Danube subregion (rCB) contained the lowest amount of flavan-3-ols (27.2 mg/L). In addition to the autochthonous wines from the Croatian coastal regions, another red wine of the Pinot Noir variety (rPK) from the continental part of Croatia, more precisely from the subregion of Slavonia, stood out for its content of flavan-3-ols (101.2 mg/L). Considering the individual proportions, the highest contents of catechin, epicatechin, and procyanidin B1 were found in rBS, while procyanidin B2 was the most abundant in rPK. In addition to gallic acid, \(p\)-coumaric acid, and caffeic acid, individual flavan-3-ols also appear to be of great importance for the differentiation of Croatian wines, as their proportions vary greatly in the wines studied. The content of catechin in Plavac Mali wines (rPI and rPD) was lower, while the content of procyanidin B1 was significantly higher compared to previously studied wine samples [6; 11]. As mentioned above, the Croatian Pinot Noir wine (rPK) contained large amounts of flavan-3-ols, although to a much lesser extent than in several Italian, French, Argentine, and Chilean samples. The combined content of catechin, epicatechin, and procyanidins B1 and B2 ranged from 140.9 to a very high value of 767.2 mg/L [46]. In the same article, the results of the determination of flavan-3-ols in Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah (Italy and France), and Merlot (USA, Australia, Chile, Italy, and Bulgaria) wines from the 2007-2010 vintages are presented. As with Pinot Noir, these commercial wines contained significantly more flavan-3-ols than our corresponding samples. Although the studied Cabernet Sauvignon wines lagged behind those from Spain [55], China [56], and Croatia [16] in terms of flavan-3-ol content, somewhat smaller differences were observed. By contrast, our samples contained similar proportions of monomeric and dimeric flavan-3-ols as the Montenegrin wine [34]. Cabernet Sauvignon wines from Dalmatia (rCD and rCK), Istria (rCA), and Croatian Danube regions (rCB) were characterized by large amounts of procyanidin B1 (13.7-44.6 mg/L) and catechin (10.5-19.3 mg/L), while epicatechin and procyanidin B2 contents were much lower (<LOQ--11.0 mg/L). A very similar composition of flavan-3-ols was also found in the Merlot samples from the Croatian coastal areas (rMK and rMA), which was lower on average compared to previously studied wines of the same variety and the same wine-growing region [16]. In addition to Cabernet and Merlot, the results presented in Table 4 show that the studied Syrah (rSK), Tera (rTD), and Blauer Portugieser (rPM) wines are also very similar in terms of flavan-3-ols composition. The content of flavan-3-ols in rTD was lower compared to the results of previous analyses of the Croatian Teran wine [6; 16]. Table 4 shows that, as expected, the white wines had significantly lower amounts of flavan-3-ols. In the majority of the white wines tested, their individual contents were below the limit of quantification. Epicatechin was detected in several samples but could  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Wine** & **Catechin** & **Epicatechin** & **Procyananidin** & **Procyananidin** & **Delphinidin  
not be quantified in any of them. Pinot Blanc from the Croatian Uplands (wPD) had the highest levels of catechin and procyanidin B1 (6.2 and 6.8 mg/L, respectively). Catechin was also determined only in samples of Chardonnay wine from Istria (wCR) and Traminer from the Croatian Danube (wTI), and procyanidin B1 in the sample of Welschriesling from Medimurje (wGJ), in the amounts of 5.1-5.5 mg/L.