Crossword Genius

Norwegian fish needs British wine, not European (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

brisling

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

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

'british wine not european' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'british' could be 'br' (abbreviation for British) and 'br' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'isling' 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).

'needs' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for brisling that I've seen before include "Small fish of the herring family" , "Sprat sold in a can" , "Swimmer" , "Norwegian fish" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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