Crossword Genius

Buddy and girl nearly finished drink (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

champagne

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

'drink' is the definition.
(I know that champagne is a white wine)

'buddy and girl nearly finished' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'and' could be 'n' (common abbreviation for 'and') and 'n' is located in the answer.
'girl' could be 'page' and 'page' is found within the remaining letters.
The remaining letters 'cham' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for champagne that I've seen before include "bubbles" , "French 'sparkler'" , "White sparkling wine" , "The drink called bubbly" , "tipple" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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