Wine Week: Avoiding "Monster Mouth"

If you're like me, you really enjoy a good glass (or three) of red wine. But about halfway through that bottle, your enjoyable evening takes a turn for the worse and you end up with "Monster Mouth", aka "Red Wine Lips", aka blue teeth and purple lips. Yikes!

Here are my top tips for avoiding the dreaded Red Wine Lips:

1. Start out right. Brush your teeth before your party (including a quick pass on the tongue and lips). You'll start out with a clean palette, plus brushing the tongue and lips gets rid of dead skin that red wine just loves to grab hold of.


2. Lube up. Ladies, put some lip gloss on as a base layer - the wine won't stick as well to it. Men, dab a little chap stick on your lips and drink up! Also, (and you should be doing this anyway), drink plenty of water throughout the evening. It'll help wash away stains before they have a chance to form.


3. Try a white or rosé. Even if you're a die-hard red wine lover, you can still get down with an Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio or a Toad Hollow Dry Rosé. If you simply must have red wine, save it for the meal, when you'll be able to wash some stainage down with food.

Or, you can always just wear your Red Wine Lips with pride, knowing that you've enjoyed a fabulous bottle among friends, friends who incidentally are also sporting the same purple grin you are!