Negra Mole; Tinta Negra Mole

[NAY-gruh MOH-leh; TEEN-tuh NAY-gruh MOH-leh] A red-wine grape grown on the island of madeira and in the Portuguese regions of Algrave and carcavelos. After the phylloxera invasion in the 1870s, Negra Mole replaced many of Madeira's classic varieties including boal, malvasia, sercial and verdelho. Although Negra Mole is considered only a good variety, it's important today in the production of the long-lived fortified wines of Madeira. In 1986, Portugal entered the Common Market, whose regulations stipulated that by 1993 any Madeira wine naming a variety on its label would have to contain at least 85 percent of that grape. This new requirement stimulated replanting of the more classic varieties as already mentioned and will probably lessen the importance of Negra Mole in the future. In Spain, this variety is called Negramoll.