Crossword Genius

Small creature in wine drunk by queen, possibly (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

beastie

'small creature' is the definition.
(little beast)

'wine drunk by queen possibly' is the wordplay.
'wine' becomes 'asti' (Italian wine).
'drunk by' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'queen possibly' becomes 'bee' (queen bee is a type of bee).
'asti' placed into 'bee' is 'BEASTIE'.

'in' acts as a link.

(Another definition for beastie that I've seen is " Rabbie Burns's wee mouse".)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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