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Cold stress adversely impacts grape growth, development, and yield. Therefore, improving the cold tolerance of grape is an urgent task of grape breeding. The Jasmonic acid (JA) pathway responsive gene <i>JAZ</i> plays a key role in plant response to cold stress. However, the role of <i>JAZ</i> in response to low temperatures in grape is unclear. In this study, <i>VvJAZ13</i> was cloned from the ‘Pinot Noir’ (<i>Vitis vinefera</i> cv. ‘Pinot Noir’) grape, and the potential interacting protein of VvJAZ13 was screened by yeast two-hybrid (Y2H). The function of <i>VvJAZ13</i> under low temperature stress was verified by genetic transformation. Subcellular localization showed that the gene was mainly expressed in cytoplasm and the nucleus. Y2H indicated that VvF-box, VvTIFY5A, VvTIFY9, Vvbch1, and VvAGD13 may be potential interacting proteins of VvJAZ13. The results of transient transformation of grape leaves showed that <i>VvJAZ13</i> improved photosynthetic capacity and reduced cell damage by increasing maximum photosynthetic efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm), reducing relative electrolyte leakage (REL) and malondialdehyde (MDA), and increasing proline content in overexpressed lines (OEs), which played an active role in cold resistance. Through the overexpression of <i>VvJAZ13</i> in <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i> and grape calli, the results showed that compared with wild type (WT), transgenic lines had higher antioxidant enzyme activity and proline content, lower REL, MDA, and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) content, and an improved ability of scavenging reactive oxygen species. In addition, the expression levels of <i>CBF1-2</i> and <i>ICE1</i> genes related to cold response were up-regulated in transgenic lines. To sum up, <i>VvJAZ13</i> is actively involved in the cold tolerance of <i>Arabidopsis</i> and grape, and has the potential to be a candidate gene for improving plant cold tolerance.