Why does red wine sometimes tingle on the tongue?!
Any ideas as to why, chemichally speaking, this happens? I can add that both times I noticed this was with young wines, both 2005 vintage and I was having food that was somewhat spicy.
Answers: I first noticed this a couple of weeks ago and couldn't figure it out. It happened again today and I drew a common link. I was eating while drinking the wine! What happened was I could noticed the slightest tingling sensation on my tongue after each sip, very similar to lightly gased drinks. I must add the taste of food was still fresh in my mouth. When I cleared my mouth with a huge gulp of water and re-drank the wine, the tingling sensation dissapeared.
Any ideas as to why, chemichally speaking, this happens? I can add that both times I noticed this was with young wines, both 2005 vintage and I was having food that was somewhat spicy.
Because the tingling did not occur after you rinsed with water it really has to be a reaction with the food. Normally food especially fat will reduce any effect that tannins might have. So my best guess is that the wine had a little residual sugar (RS) that somehow reacted with something in the food and released some gas. Not dissimilar to alcohol fermentation.
Unfortunately wine labels do not normally include information on RS and it only takes a very small amount for reactions like this to occur. The wine does not have to taste sweet to have RS. Generally the highest quality red wines are very dry meaning they have almost no RS, so try a different wine especially something like a Cab where we really do not want any RS.
Red wines with little tannin should be drunk young. However, a red wine that should age and improve for perhaps three or more years requires a lot of tannin. As the wine ages, the tannin softens and becomes less noticeable. Perhaps you are choosing high tannin wines that have not had sufficient time to age.
Well, if it was spicy food, as you said, it was just the reaction of the alcohol with the spices in the food. As long as it wasn't a bad experience, you're fine.
Maybe, next time you're eating spicy foods, try drinking a different kind of red wine. It could have been the wine itself.
At least you can have the fun of experimenting with wines and food. lol