Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon (Cs) grapevines were grown at near optimal temperatures (25 or 35 degrees C). Gas exchange, fluorescence, metabolic profiling and correlation based network analysis were used to characterize leaf physiology. When grown at 25 degrees C, the growth rate and photosynthesis of both cultivars were similar. At 35 degrees C Shiraz showed increased respiration, non-photochemical quenching and reductions of photosynthesis and growth. In contrast, Cs maintained relatively stable photosynthetic activity and growth regardless of the condition. In both cultivars, growth at 35 degrees C resulted in accumulations of secondary sugars (raffinose, fucose and ribulose) and reduction of primary sugars concentration (glucose, fructose and sucrose), more noticeably in Shiraz than Cs. In spite of similar patterns of metabolic changes in response to growth at 35 degrees C, significant differences in important leaf antioxidants and antioxidant precursors (DHA/ascorbate, quinates, cathechins) characterized the cultivar response. Correlation analysis reinforced Shiraz sensitivity to the 35 degrees C, showing higher number of newly formed edges at 35 degrees C and higher modularity in Shiraz as compared to Cs. The results suggest that the optimal growth temperatures of grapevines are cultivar dependent, and allow a first insight into the variability of the metabolic responses of grapevines under varied temperatures.