By means of combined vacuum distillation and extraction, volatile constituents were separated from the berries of Concord, Niagara (V. labrusca, L.) and Elvira (V. labrusca, L. ×V. riparia, M.) grapevines. Using the combination of adsorption chromatography on silica gel and coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, 25 acids, 19 alcohols, 22 carbonyls, 63 esters, 6 hydrocarbons and 10 compounds of miscellaneous structures were identified. Numerically prevailing were unsaturated esters such as ethyl trans-2 hexenoate, ethyl trans-2-octenoate, ethyl cis-4-decenoate, ethyl trans-2-decenoate, and especially the isomer ethyl 2,4-decadienoates were found to contribute to the inherent sweet-fruity odour of the labrusca cultivars investigated. 2,5-dimethyl-4-methoxy-3(2H)-furanone may be responsible for the caramel-like undertone in the aroma fraction obtained from Concord and Niagara grapes. Despite the preparative gas chromatographic enrichment of this fraction, the structure(s) of the substance(s), which might be responsible for this undesirable sensory impression, could not be determined.The composition of volatile substances in the cultivars studied differed only quantitatively and not qualitatively. Quantitative gas chromatography showed the level of volatile compounds in Elvira grapes to be lower than the labrusca cultivars. Methyl anthranilate, methyl and ethyl 3-hydroxybutanoate, ethyl 2-butenoate and 2,5-dimethyl-4-methoxy-3(2H)-furanone, were all detected in high amounts in Concord and Niagara grapes, but were only found in trace amounts in Elvira grapes.