Abstract The anthocyanin profiles and CIELAB color values of nine wines in Vitis germplasms from southern China were compared. The results showed that the anthocyanin composition of wines from one hybrid between V. vinifera and V. labrusca (‘Moldova’), two V. labrusca varieties (‘Conquistador’ and ‘Saint-Croix’), one V. quinquangularis variety (‘Yeniang No.2’), one hybrid between V. quinquangularis and V. vinifera (‘NW196’), one V. davidii variety (‘Xiangniang No.1’) and one V. rotundifolia variety (‘Noble’) were dominated by anthocyanidin 3,5-O-diglucosides. All these were quite different from V. vinifera wines (‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ and ‘Marselan’), which were characterized by the monoglucoside and pyranoanthocyanins. 3',4',5'-substituted anthocyanins were dominant in the wines of all varieties, except ‘Noble’ wine. ‘Yeniang No.2’ (V. quinquangularis) had the highest acid, total anthocyanin concentration, and showed a more intense pigmentation with a higher proportion and concentration of coumaroylated anthocyanins. In the colorimetric analysis, ‘Yeniang No.2’ (V. quinquangularis) wine showed the most saturated red colors, followed by ‘NW196’ (V. quinquangularis). The detected chromatic characteristics of these wines were basically in accordance with their sensory evaluation.