wine for dinner?

[Nia]

I am a complete NOVICE when it comes to wines. I'm having some friends over for dinner and serving the following:

spinach and cannelini bean salad
ziti primavera
baked scallops

suggestions on what kind of wine to serve? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Innkeeper]

Hi Nia, and welcome to the Wine Board. Try an '00 or '01 Verdicchio with AOC del Castelli di Jesi. A wonderful brand is Sartarelli.

[wondersofwine]

Are those wines easy to find IK? If not, maybe a Soave or Riesling Kabinett would do.

[Nia]

Thanks for such quick responses! Much appreciated.
Another stupid question: how do you decide what kind of wine goes well with different types of foods (i.e. white or red)? And if you're a red wine enthusiast, could you get away with serving that most of the time?

[Thomas]

Your question requires a rather lengthy answer, and even then people will disagree on the reasons. But you can have a few reds that pair with a variety of foods--Dolcetto, Pinot Noir, Valpolicella, Rose, and more.