Doing my first wine kit. All went well. Starting OG 1.10 (Pinot noir). Temps are good. Pitched at 68, now showing 72 degrees. Just not sensing a lot of activity. Seeing an occasional bubble in the airlock once every minute on day two. Gravity has only dropped to 1.095.
Does this seem normal? Is wine yeast slower to start than beer yeast?
When did you pitch? Did you rehydrate the yeast? How old was the yeast? Did you pitch more than 1 pack?
All these can lead to lag.
Pitched according to the kit instructions. Yeast was fresh. One packet supplied with the kit. Sprinkled as recommended, not rehydrated. Fermenting bucket has gasketed top so I don’t think I am getting leaks around there.
1.100 is pretty high for just one packet. And without rehydrating there is an immediate loss of viability. Did you check the date of the yeast? Since it came in a kit it could be pretty old. It will likely finish, could just take a little longer for the yeast to take hold.
Buckets, even with a gasket end lid are notorious for leaking.
Activity is much more brisk today. Hopefully just a bit of a lag getting started. Thanks.
