The leaf water relations and photosynthetic rate during acute soil drying were compared in potgrown grapevine cultivars, Vitis vinifera cv. Chardonnay and V. vinifera cv. Riesling. Leaf water potential in Riesling decreased significantly from day 2 after water had been withheld, while in Chardonnay leaf water potential for the water-stressed plants was almost identical with that in well watered plants during the first 4 days. Higher stomatal conductance and photosynthetic rate in Chardonnay than Riesling were observed until day 3 after withholding water. Photosynthetic rate in water-stressed Chardonnay was not different from that in control plants until day 3 after withholding water, while that in water-stressed Riesling was reduced markedly from day 2. In Riesling, osmotic potential at turgor loss point was not changed irrespective of watering conditions. However, in Chardonnay osmotic potential at turgor loss point decreased more in the water stressed conditions than in well watered conditions. The osmotic adjustment in Chardonnay under water stress conditions must contribute to the maintenance of higher stomatal conductance and photosynthetic rate than those in Riesling for a significant period of the drying process. Though difference in stomatal conductance between the two cultivars was shown in the process of soil drying, stomatal conductance of both cultivars responded to vapor pressure difference between leaf and ambient air, rather than soil water status and leaf water potential.