Trouble starting fermentation - Please help!

I mixed up my first patch of Strawberry Wine must over the weekend but I'm having trouble getting some active fermentation going. I used campden on Saturday night per instructions and covered with a lid (not snapped down just resting on top.) 24 hours later I added 1 packet of Cote es Blanc (after properly rehydrating it.) Monday night there was still no activity and I realized I didn't oxygenate the must before pitching the yeast so I repeated with another packet of yeast last night just after shaking the daylights and stirring the must rapidly as to make sure it had enough O2. Tonight (24 hours later), still not seeing any airlock activity. Everything seems to be sealed well and when I press down on the lid the airlock level moves so I seem to have a good closed system. How likely is it that there is residual sulfites left in the must seeing has how it has now been 72 hours? Could it be the lid didn't allow enough to escape even though it wasn't sealed? Also, I've read Cote De Blanc is a slow fermenter, is it possible I just haven't given it enough time.

Any help or advice you could offer would be much appreciated!

Ambassador said:

I mixed up my first patch of Strawberry Wine must over the weekend but I'm having trouble getting some active fermentation going. I used campden on Saturday night per instructions and covered with a lid (not snapped down just resting on top.) 24 hours later I added 1 packet of Cote es Blanc (after properly rehydrating it.) Monday night there was still no activity and I realized I didn't oxygenate the must before pitching the yeast so I repeated with another packet of yeast last night just after shaking the daylights and stirring the must rapidly as to make sure it had enough O2. Tonight (24 hours later), still not seeing any airlock activity. Everything seems to be sealed well and when I press down on the lid the airlock level moves so I seem to have a good closed system. How likely is it that there is residual sulfites left in the must seeing has how it has now been 72 hours? Could it be the lid didn't allow enough to escape even though it wasn't sealed? Also, I've read Cote De Blanc is a slow fermenter, is it possible I just haven't given it enough time.

Any help or advice you could offer would be much appreciated!

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First, give it time, you've got plenty yeast in there.
Second, what was your starting SG and what's your must temp?
You don't need to snap the lid on tight and use an airlock yet, just set the lid loosely on top or cover it with a towel to keep bugs and dust out.
Yeast can take a couple of days to get rolling, even when conditions are right.

Take the lid off give it a good stir cover with a light towel. Fermentation needs oxygen it's not till fermentation is almost complete when oxygen is the enemy. Make sure temp of must is mid 70s good luck

what both above have said, I let mine ferment in a open top barrel for 7 to 10 days I stir daily, keep covered with a towel, I never go to carboy before 7 to ten days, and as stated above you need your SG reading, as it lowers it shows you where you are at in the ferment stage, only as ferment is coming to it's end do you airlock it, during ferment O2 is your friend, only after ferment does O2 become your enemy ..
Dawg::

I just went through the same thing, and made the same mistake of putting the lid on tight with an airlock too early. Mine took several days to get going. Goodluck!
Here's the link to the thread:
http://www.winemakingtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53730

Specific gravity was 1.090 and the must is about 73 degrees. I've not checked to see if it has changed yet.

I've made mead and cider before and always had the air lock start within 24 hours so making something with fresh fruit is new for me. Does it require more oxygen when dealing with more than just liquid in your must? Not having the lid on scares me as I feel like I'm just setting myself up for an infected must. I'm seeing mixed recommendations how to cover it (towel, unsealed lid etc.) Is pulling the air lock and leaving a towel over an unsealed lid sufficient?

Just peaked under the lid and saw the attached picture. Big colony of yeast where I pitched the last sample (didn't stir it in the last time.) Smells nice and yeasty in there. I gave the must a good stir and set the lid back down on top gently and pulled the airlock for now. Why so much activity without producing enough Co2 to bubble the airlock? Headspace of the bucket vs a carboy?

You can't trust airlock activity or lack thereof. You may well have had a leak somewhere and the co2 was escaping. I always just rest the lid on my buckets. It allows me to stir the must daily after about 2 days. I don't do a hydrometer check every day, but after 3 or 4 days as the fermentation looks to be slowing down it is easy to check.

Ambassador said:

Specific gravity was 1.090 and the must is about 73 degrees. I've not checked to see if it has changed yet.

I've made mead and cider before and always had the air lock start within 24 hours so making something with fresh fruit is new for me. Does it require more oxygen when dealing with more than just liquid in your must? Not having the lid on scares me as I feel like I'm just setting myself up for an infected must. I'm seeing mixed recommendations how to cover it (towel, unsealed lid etc.) Is pulling the air lock and leaving a towel over an unsealed lid sufficient?

Just peaked under the lid and saw the attached picture. Big colony of yeast where I pitched the last sample (didn't stir it in the last time.) Smells nice and yeasty in there. I gave the must a good stir and set the lid back down on top gently and pulled the airlock for now. Why so much activity without producing enough Co2 to bubble the airlock? Headspace of the bucket vs a carboy?

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Yes, you can put the lid on loosely and cover with a towel. You have a thriving yeast colony, it just needed time to get going. Stir a couple times a day, that'll give you plenty of O2.
While the airlock can be an outward sign of fermentation, rely on your hydrometer reading for progress. I know you were watching the bubbler, but sometimes the bucket lid isn't a perfect airtight seal and your bubbler won't bubble as CO2 slowly escapes, even though it bubbles when you push down on the lid, it can't seep out fast enough when you push.
Don't fear headspace during AF, the CO2 being given off protects your wine. As AF slows, that's why we move it to a carboy to complete AF, the tiny airspace keeps your wine safe.

Thanks for the help everybody. Never thought about the lid leaking minimally. I'll check the SG later this evening and see where I am at. The recipe I'm following instructs me to rack to a carboy at 1.040. Does this sound acceptable? Also, I see lots of advice about not squeezing the fruit bag heavily when it is time to remove it, what is the thought behind this? I would think you would want as much liquid as you could get from it.

I would wait until the sg is about 1.020 or even 1.010 and get everything you can in that racking. That will help ensure fermentation to dry completes.

As to not squeezing, you don't want to get any small things that make it through the men of the bag. They can lead to off flavors. I put my bags into a strainer and just let them drip for a bit back into the bucket.

Ambassador said:

Thanks for the help everybody. Never thought about the lid leaking minimally. I'll check the SG later this evening and see where I am at. The recipe I'm following instructs me to rack to a carboy at 1.040. Does this sound acceptable? Also, I see lots of advice about not squeezing the fruit bag heavily when it is time to remove it, what is the thought behind this? I would think you would want as much liquid as you could get from it.

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I second what Cmason said, 1.010 or lower, two words, wine volcano. Did your recipe include any nutrients in the recipe?

Yes I added both nutrients and energizer. I presently have a 6.5 gallon carboy and a 5 gallon. Does the 6.5 provide enough room to avoid a volcano if I rack it earlier? It sounds like strawberry wine requires multiple racking so if I went to the 6.5 then I'd have a smaller volume carboy to rack the second time to.

Ambassador said:

Yes I added both nutrients and energizer. I presently have a 6.5 gallon carboy and a 5 gallon. Does the 6.5 provide enough room to avoid a volcano if I rack it earlier? It sounds like strawberry wine requires multiple racking so if I went to the 6.5 then I'd have a smaller volume carboy to rack the second time to.

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I can't say, as I don't know how much must you have! Lots of fruit wine recipes have you rack a bit earlier than grape wine, I like to go a bit longer for maximum flavor / color extraction. Unless you suspect that your fruit is going bad in the fermenter, try to get down to 1.010. If racking early, you can rack to a bit larger carboy to finish AF, then downsize to a properly sized one, that should work out just fine.

all the above if you follow you wont go wrong, as for your headspace and carboy sizes , I am learning everyday on this site, from these very people, I have carboys from 3 gallon to 6.5 gallon, I have never made a kit, I have access to fruit an berries, so I also keep bottles from clear wine bottles to 1 gallon clear jugs, and airlock stoppers to fit all of them, with fresh fruit you can make a larger batch then as you rack each time you can top off with must from smaller jugs, like strawberry for instance I'll make 8 or 9 gallons then fill a 6.5 carboy next I'll use the rest in several smaller bottles all air locked off same as your carboy, I'll do my first rack around 3 months using no finer, with finer you can rack much sooner, as I rack off my gross lees you'll lose some wine, that is where the smaller bottles come in, to top off your wine carboy, any little bit left in small jugs, well cheers an bottoms up so you can know what taste is coming, if going the long way,(no finers) then at the end of a year you'll have racked 3 or 4 times, by then you'll be ready to back sweeten to taste, and still have your carboy full, without using nothing but your original must/wine, as for degassing I rack each time using a vacuum pump, check out allinonevacuumpump.com there you can find out the details degassing as you go along racking, vacummpumpman (STEVE)on here can tell you loads on racking an degassing without lifting heavy carboys, you'll have to add a ferment inhibitor when you back sweeten to stop a renewed ferment, (volcano/wine bomb) lol,, so like them above have said run your ferment dry, then at the end you can back sweeten to your taste or drink it on the dry or semi dry side , I like sweet to semi sweet, all these taste come from what taste you like, best of luck, and with these giants on here you'll NEVER go wrong, that is a fact,
Dawg::

Update

Well all the extra yeast I added tore through the must and on Friday I was closing in on 1.000 SG. I racked on Saturday and removed the bag of fruit. Lots of sediment has settled and the airlock has slowed dramatically. Is it too soon to rack it again to help with the clearing and so it isn't sitting on lees and what I presume is some residual fruit particles?

I'd just let it finish fermenting, before racking again to stabilize. Which could be in a week or two.??

Ambassador said:

Well all the extra yeast I added tore through the must and on Friday I was closing in on 1.000 SG. I racked on Saturday and removed the bag of fruit. Lots of sediment has settled and the airlock has slowed dramatically. Is it too soon to rack it again to help with the clearing and so it isn't sitting on lees and what I presume is some residual fruit particles?

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Just keep up with your SG readings. When they remain unchanged for 3 or so days, you can go ahead and move on to the next racking. The occasional bubbler activity is not necessarily an indication of continuing fermentation (although it could be), the wine will begin releasing the CO2 that is in solution from fermentation. Use your hydrometer as a guide at this point.

Just checked and the current SG is .992. Isn't that a bit dry for Cote Des Blancs? Everything I've read says it leaves the wine on the sweeter side. Perhaps my OG wasn't as high as I thought. Can the fruit pulp in the wort give false readings on the initial SG?

Ambassador said:

Just checked and the current SG is .992. Isn't that a bit dry for Cote Des Blancs? Everything I've read says it leaves the wine on the sweeter side. Perhaps my OG wasn't as high as I thought. Can the fruit pulp in the wort give false readings on the initial SG?

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Low SG has nothing to do with the yeast per se, it is the alcohol tolerance of the yeast and where you start the SG. Cote des Blancs, EC-1118, D-47, Montrachet, etc. will all run dry.
I believe what you may have read was Cote des Blancs will highlight the floral and fruity qualities.

Just make sure the wine is clear, stabilize it, then backsweeten it to your liking.

Sounds like everything is going just fine.

Ambassador said:

Can the fruit pulp in the wort give false readings on the initial SG?

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The answer is yes, if you have enough pulp or grapes or fruit, whatever you are making wine from, to cause your hydrometer to be suspended by the solids instead of the liquids, it is very possible. That's where a refractometer comes in mighty handy, two drops of liquid on the plate, and read the Brix. Alternately, push a strainer into your must and scoop out some clean juice into a test jar and drop your hydrometer into there for a good reading. Obviously, sanitize everything first.