Carbon dioxide needed

carbon dioxide in a California winery

Breathe out. Winemakers in much of the northern hemisphere are experiencing a highly inconvenient shortage of CO2.

‘Are you ok?’ my partner asked me from across the table. Realising that my toast was suspended halfway between my plate and my mouth, I chomped down. ‘Fine’, I mumbled through my mouthful, unable to rip my eyes away from an article on the CO2 shortage in the UK, all related to the rise in gas prices. I abandoned my toast in favour of scrolling desperately for an answer that wasn’t there.

For weeks, since the start of harvest...