Strawberry Wine and slow Cotes des Blanc

[therealjohnsquad]

I am brewing my second batch of wine. It is a strawberry wine and I am using Red Star Cotes des Blanc yeast. I read that this is a slow fermenting yeast, but after 42 hours since pitching I don't see a lot of activity. There are some thin suds on the surface, and I do stir it daily, but there is not really any airlock bubbling. This is a 1 gallon batch and is currently in a 3.5gal bucket. Is this very small amount of activity normal for this yeast? In my first batch (banana wine) the recipe called for premier blanc, and the fermentation became vigorous with the first 24 hours. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[wineforfun]

Just give it some time. If you see "suds" then it is starting to do its thing.
Make sure you have the temp. up on it too. I assume you added nutrient to it?

Sounds like you have it under airlock with lid snapped on. If so, and you will get some mixed opinions, I would take it off and just set the lid on loosely.
Stir it twice daily.

 

[therealjohnsquad]

Yes, I have added yeast nutrient as well as energizer as per the recipe. I will lay the lid on top rather than snapping it down. As for temp, I have it on top of my fridge, where temp stays around 70ish. Thanks for the reply. I really appreciate it.