Need help pairing wines !!!

[pepperoni]

Hi, I'm new to this board as well as wines. You could say I know absolutely zilch!!!
Anyway, my girlfriend's a culinary student and a bit of a wine buff. I want to take her out for a nice Italian meal. She's not too picky and sticks to simple ziti or spaghetti with marinara sauce and on occasion, a meatball or too. Also, loves salad with italian dressing. I want to choose a decent wine, yet not make an ass of myself while doing the same.
Any suggestions? She does have a bit of sweet tooth and recently she recommended a California red to me (can't remember the name) though she said it was "fruity and pleasant".
Maybe this message is a little vague, but I'd appreciate any suggestions, in fact if anybody can recommend some tried and tested wine pairing with popular Italian entrees, that'd be awesome.
Budget between $10-$15, though exceptions could cost up to $20-$25.

Thanks,

Chet

[Innkeeper]

Hi Chet, and welcome to the Wine Board. Nothing wrong with your first two posts, as they ask the questions we love to answer. IMHO Barbera d'Asti is the best wine with pasta. The reason is that a. It is Italian, and b. It is very acidic as well as fruity and pleasant. The acid goes well with that in tomato sauces on pasta. Traditionalists will claim that Chianti is what goes best with pasta. This is a tradition that has little to do with modern Chianti which is excellent, but goes better with more complex dishes. Also, technically, Tuscany where Chianti comes from is not much closer to Southern Italy where pasta comes from than Piedmont where Barbera d'Asti comes from. In a restaurant you should be able to get one within your budget.