Hi brew_cat, thanks for weighing in so quickly!
The Kieselsol that I have encountered in all my other wine kits to date, has been in liquid form. This packet has what looks like dried pieces of the fining agent (definitely not liquid; I used the term 'crystallized' as it is crystal clear and in small pieces, almost looking like broken glass - thinner/finer of course).
If using it by rehydrating with a bit of warm water won't affect its action, I'd be fine doing that, but I do not have enough expertise (yet) to know.
The kits allow for bottling after a minimum of 28 days. Everything the instructions say to do is guided by specific gravity readings, with repeated caution to be patient, wait for the fermentation to be done before racking/degassing/stabilizing, wait patiently until clear for a minimum of 14 days after fermentation completes (and then rack/wait again if necessary, never bottling wine that isn't fully cleared).
Do you think the Kieselsol will function as intended, given that it somehow dried out within its plastic packet?
Holly