The effect of different solvents on the extraction of some phenolic compounds from grape seeds was investigated. The main compounds identified by high performance liquid chromatography were gallic acid, (+)‐catechin, (‐)‐epicatechin, the dimeric procyanidins B1 and B2, the trimeric procyanidin C1 and epicatechin gallate. The solvents tested were water, absolute ethanol, 75% ethanol, acetone, 70% acetone, methanol, n‐butanol, diethyl ether, ethyl acetate and a combination of diethyl ether followed by ethyl acetate. Results showed that methanol was the best solvent for the extraction of (+)‐catechin, (‐)‐epicatechin and epigallocatechin, whereas 70% acetone yielded the largest amounts of procyanidins and 75% ethanol yielded the largest amount of gallic acid. The greatest amount of total phenols was extracted by 70% acetone.