Grapevine represents a significant crop in agricultural production in the Republic of Croatia. The biggest obstacle to the revitalization of the indigenous assortment is the lack of certified, healthy plant material. Previous researches have shown that in the population of Croatian indigenous cultivars there is a high degree of infection with economically harmful viruses, so it is necessary to carry out the elimination of the viruses in some cultivars. Meristem tip culture is a successful method of virus elimination. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of the variety and growth phase of the grapevine in which the plant material was taken, on the growth and development of meristem tip culture in vitro. The research was conducted on 18 autochthonous cultivars, which were previously diagnosed with a viral infection. Plant material was sampled in two periods, before and after flowering of the grapevine. 1 mm plant explants were placed into the culture and their survival, regeneration and rooting were monitored. The results showed that the variety has a significant impact on the success of in vitro culture. The greatest percentage of surviving explants, regenerated and rooted plants was found in 'Plavac mali sivi'. The influence of the growth phase in which the plant material is sampled on the success of in vitro culture was confirmed, with higher success being achieved in the post-flowering period. The interaction of variety and sampling period significantly affected explants survival, and the interaction of sampling period and sanitary status significantly affected plant regeneration and rooting. Elimination of GLRaV-1 and GLRaV-3 viruses was successfully performed on the cultivar 'Malvasija dubrovačka', and elimination of GLRaV-3 on the cultivar 'Glavinuša'.