The accumulation of phenolics in the skins of two Vitis davidii cultivars ('Ziqiu' and 'Xiangzhenzhu') and one Vitis quinquangularis cultivar ('Xiangshan No. 4') native to China was followed during ripening. It was found that the anthocyanin composition of all three grapes was dominated by anthocyanidin 3,5-O-diglucosides. The cultivar 'Xiangshan No. 4' (V. quinquangularis) contained a high level of 3',4'-substituted anthocyanins and low levels of flavonols and 3',4'-substituted flavan-3-ols, indicating that the F3'H branch pathway was the principal carbon pathway synthesizing mainly 3',4'-substituted anthocyanins. No myricetin-type flavonols were found in this cultivar, but in both 'Ziqiu' and 'Xiangzhenzhu' (V. davidii) cultivars the F3'5'H branch pathway was dominant, resulting in malvidin-based diglucoside anthocyanins. Cyanidin-based and petunidin-based anthocyanins were not detected in the 'Ziqiu' cultivar. Principal component analysis revealed that V. davidii grapes had abundant flavonols by the early middle developmental stages and a high level of malvidin-type anthocyanins by the late developmental stage. In contrast, the V. quinquangularis cultivar contained other anthocyanins instead of malvidin-type anthocyanins.