Luís Pato , the famously idiosyncratic producer based in the Bairrada region, has been appointed vice president of the official government wine organisation ViniPortugal. He will eventually succeed his friend Francisco Borba as president, thereby becoming the most influential Portuguese winemaker in the promotion of Portuguese table wines. The former board of ViniPortugal, Vasco de Avillez and Paulo Amorim, had been in post since 1997 but the appointment of Pato suggests that a new broom will sweep through the corridors of vinous power in Portugal. The nomination was confirmed by the General Assembly only after Luis Pato gave...