Crossword Genius

One digs up wine drunk by e.g. retired politician, mostly (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

excavator

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'one digs' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both man-made objects as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?

'up wine drunk by e g retired politician mostly' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'wine' could be 'cava' (type of Spanish wine) and 'cava' is found in the answer.
'by' could be 'x' (2 by 4 is 2 x 4) and 'x' is found within the answer.
'e' is found in the answer.
'retired' could be 'r' (abbreviation) and 'r' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'to' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for excavator that I've seen is " Powered machine for digging earth".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.