Photo Credit: kwtastings.com
Viewing my chompers in the mirror after a long night of wine-ing often produces visions of yesteryears gone by when we used to have to chew on that purple pill as a kid in order to see if we had brushed well enough to remove the plaque. Yeah, you know what I’m talking about because you’re old too. Do they still do that at the dentist office for kids?
During the holiday season, my sister-in-law asked me why her tongue and teeth seemed to be stained more significantly with certain red wines than with others. Her initial hypothesis was that is had something to do with the quality of the wines, because she specifically noticed that her tongue was not as stained with some of the higher quality wines she had been drinking during the holiday vs. her normal everyday type of wines. There are a lot of factors that determine the level of staining you will have on your tongue and teeth, but there doesn’t seem to be a correlation between staining levels and wine quality.
The main stain-causing component in red wines is the skin pigment of the grapes that mingle with the juice for a certain mount of time before, during and sometimes after fermentation thus giving the wine it’s color. Did you know the juice of most red wine grapes is actually clear? The level of skin pigmentation in a grape, known as anthocyanins, is affected by many factors including the grape variety (Petite Sirah is darker than Pinot Noir), climate, farming techniques, among many others.
For example, increased exposure of grapes to sunlight will result in higher anthocyanins, so certain canopy management methods can be employed to control this. Additionally, warmer climates tend to produce grapes of less red skin color than cooler climates. Increasing the amount of time the juice is in contact with the grape skins, called extended maceration, can also impart a higher level of pigmentation phenols into the resulting wine up to a point. Possibly, extreme fining and filtering practices could actually reduce some of these phenols from being present in the resulting wine as well. From a biological perspective, the level staining depends on how dehydrated you are and what you have eaten as well.
Some people say you should slip away and brush your teeth and tongue with a little whitener or mouthwash if you’re worried about your pearly used-to-be-whites or if you’re expecting a kiss from that special someone, but I say wear your badge of honor proudly.
Does it bother you?
So, the black fur that actually grows on your tongue after a long night of drinking Mad Dog 20/20 is actually just a combination of phenolic compounds?
I didn’t mean to say “actually” twice in that comment. My redundancy is so crude!
Affirmative, though mostly from those derived from skin pigmentation.
c’mon! I was making a MD20/20 joke!
Uh, yeah, I knew that. I’m not slow or anything this morning.
Actually, per a dentist, it all depends on the make up of your teeth; something to do with your enamel and how porous they are. Cyndi frequently has this problem – she also frequently drinks a lot. Get some whitening gum – that will do the trick to re-pearly your whites.
Nah! Doesn’t bother me at all… in fact I always find it funny to show people my purple teeth… the wife and I even have competitions to see who’s teeth are “purpler”
I remember years ago having cases of a Windsor Vineyards Petite Sirah, inexpensive and delicious, that was midnight purple in the glass and could stain teeth black.
Mike, thanks for gracing us with your presence! oh, and the info regarding teeth enamel… that’s a very good point… I think as we get older they become even more porous no?
Randy, agreed — it’s something to be proud of if you are a red wine drinker.
John – thanks! yeah, PS is very inky so I can believe that!
This is an AWESOME post Ed! I love a Purple Smile! I get a kick at seeing purple lips in the mirror the morning after a good cellar jaunt. Bring it on says Seattle Wine Gal… bring it on…
@SeattleWineGal
SWG: thanks! yeah, the darker and inkier the better, I say.
I love purple teeth and tongue. Please note that if you research this further, you will find that dentists recommend against brushing for 30 minutes. The acidity of the wine takes off some tooth enamel and brushing is bad until the saliva gets to work on it first.
Thanks, Marc, for the very informative reply! I had not heard that before, but makes complete sense due to the level of acid in wine.
A lot of people suffer from this problem. You can whiten your teeth quite easily, but I don’t know how to fix the tongue. teeth whitening