Crossword Genius

Port initially judged acceptable as wine (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rioja

'wine' is the definition.
(I know that Rioja is a type of red wine)

'port initially judged acceptable' is the wordplay.
'port' becomes 'rio' (Rio de Janeiro is a port).
'initially' indicates taking the first letters.
The first letters of 'judged acceptable' is 'ja'.
'rio'+'ja'='RIOJA'

'as' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for rioja that I've seen before include "Spanish drink" , "Dry red wine from Spain" , "Wine from northern Spain" , "Spanish wine type" , "Spanish red wine" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times and The Sun.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app