Just as a dollop of toothpaste before a glass of orange juice will bring your taste buds to a bitter end, so will coupling Pepsodent with a Pinot. This isn't to say that wine drinkers should never engage in oral hygiene, just engage in it around your wine list's schedule.

Mints: Just like the toothpaste dilemma, eating mint before or during wine-drinking negates the experience and alters the flavors. Put down your peppermints, ignore your York Patties, and say no to that mint ice cream sitting in your freezer. No matter how much it begs, you're not to consume it.

The flavor of mint can overpower even the strongest wine, leaving you with — quite literally — a bad taste in your mouth. Even something as minor as sucking on a Tic Tac can hurt the experience. Mint herbs and spearmint herbs, however, are fine to consume. If sucking on leaves is your thing, you are certainly in luck.

Vinegar: In the world of wine, vinegar is a no-no. Whether adding it to foods or drinking it directly from the bottle, vinegar has no business being involved with wine. They are, plainly put, archenemies.

For this reason, vinegar should be omitted, even when it comes to salad. One of the best alternatives is to use wine as the "vinegar" part of a salad dressing. For example, instead of using oil vinaigrette, compose a salad dressing using oil, wine, and whatever spices you want. This will keep your salad bar from interfering with your mini bar.

Not all foods or food ingredients go with all wines, but there are usually at least a few wines out there that will go with anything. The above, however, are exceptions. By avoiding them you can help keep your wine drinking experience from being compromised. Ditch the Colgate, and keep the Cabernet.