It produces dark fruit that are appealing to both birds and people, and has been used extensively in commercial viticulture as grafted rootstock and in hybrid grape breeding programs.

In the wild, the vine thrives along exposed areas with good sun exposure and adequate soil moisture, such as riverbanks, forest clearings, fence lines and along road sides.

The berries, however, are often sensitive to mildew and black rot if the vine is exposed to prolonged wet and humid conditions.

Important advantages of the use of V. riparia (and hybrids between it and other Vitis species) include resistance to phylloxera and adaptation to variant soil types.

Examples of commercially important cultivars with significant V. Riparia ancestry include Baco noir, Marechal Foch, Triomphe d'Alsace and Frontenac.

While V. riparia shares many important characteristics with its cousin, Vitis vinifera, the small size of the berry (making it prone to predation by birds), the high acidity of its fruit (often up to 5% titratable acidity), the intense pigment of its juice, and the presence of herbaceous aromas in wine produced from it have made it unusable on its own for commercial viticulture.