A column-chromatographic method has been devised which fractionates the coloured components of wines without prior treatment. It employs Sephadex LH-20 and elution firstly with 10% (v/v) methanol-in-water (pH 3.5) and then with a methanol gradient to 65%. The mono and diglucosides of malvidin, and the flavan-3-ols, catechin and epicatechin, are among the components subsequently identified by paper chromatography and spectrophotometry. Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinotage, Gamay de Beaujolais, Seibel 5437 and Golden Chasselas wines yielded 17 different major fractions. All wines so far examined had different and characteristic elution profiles. Concentration of a wine prior to chromatography altered the elution profile.