Crossword Genius

Excited by Italian wine -- red to start with (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

astir

'excited' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'by italian wine red to start with' is the wordplay.
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'italian wine' becomes 'asti' (I've seen this before).
'to start with' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'red' is 'r'.
'asti' next to 'r' is 'ASTIR'.

(Other definitions for astir that I've seen before include "In motion - out of bed" , "Out of bed or on the move" , "Moving; out of bed" , "Starting to move" , "Excitedly moving" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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