Best of the Maldives: Pinot Noir – Huvafenfushi

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Huvafenfushi - Sommelier Indica Romani Pinot Noir

  • “Only somebody who really takes the time to understand Pinot’s potential can then coax it into its fullest expression. Then, I mean, oh its flavors, they’re just the most haunting and brilliant and thrilling and subtle and… ancient on the planet.” – Sideways

Pinot Noir Day today. If you are wondering why we should be celebrating such a specific varietal, then check out the clip from the Oscar winning film “Sideways” at bottom (excerpt above). I guess Miles’ sentiments echo some of my inspirations behind Maldives Complete. It really takes time to coax the Maldives “into its fullest expression” in an informative website.

And if you want to sample the most haunting, most brilliant , most thrilling and most subtle Pinot, then you need to visit Huvafenfushi for its Romani 1999. The bottle (shown by sommelier Indica above and in the photo below) will run you $30,000.

Huvafenfushi - Romani Pinot Noir

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Best of the Maldives: Cardboard Furniture – Huvafenfushi

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Huvafenfushi - card board chair

World Design Day today. Increasingly, Maldives resorts are looking to stylish design to distinguish their properties so there is vibrant portfolio of creativity found across the destination.

Today’s feature evoked my recent trip to the famous Design Museum in Denmark. One of their most famous exports exhibited is the Danish chair. A further geo-personal connection living as we do near High Wycombe, home of the Wycombe Wanderers, known affectionately as the Chairboys (we can see their training ground from our house).

The exhibit featured a wide array of quirky and inventive styles, but one that caught my eye was Gehry’s cardboard creations (see photo at bottom)…

  • “The architect and designer Frank Gehry has been working with cheap and everyday y materials in new and untraditional ways on a small and large scale. In 1987, he created the very sculptural cardboard chair while working as an architect on a cardboard model. He wanted to experiment with the material and discovered that it was possible to transform huge piles of cardboard into sculptures. Little by little it turned into a chair and became one of the icons of the 20th century. And then it is sustainable.”

And you can find such museum quality pieces at in the Maldives as well. Huvafenfushi’s CUBE villa comes with its own similarly inspired chair with a name as fun as its sinuous shape – “The Vitra Wiggle”. It is accompanied by a set of cleverly nested tables as well.

Huvafenfushi - CUBE cardboard chair and tables

Huvafenfushi - card board chair and tables CUBE

Design Museum

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Best of the Maldives: Mini-Bar Wine – Huvafenfushi

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Huvafenfushi - CUBE mini bar

National Drink Wine Day today. The perfect occasion to splash out of bit of a special tipple. And if you really want to celebrate but are worried about stumbling back to your villa, then check into Huvafenfushi which offers the most exquisite bottle of wine I’ve come across…in its mini-bar. A $695 bottle of Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtescede. If you are not splurging, then you might want to be a bit careful “raiding the mini-bar”.

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Best of the Maldives: Gourmet Shots – Huvafenfushi

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Huvafenfushi - gourmet shots 1

Beer with curry, Tequilla with lime and salt, a ‘boilermaker’ of bourbon and beer, Jagerbombs, Oyster with sweet wasabi with Prosecco, Bel Star, Brut, DOC, Veneto, Italy NV chaser.

Classic shot combos that have inspired Huvafenfushi gastronomic line-up of degustation and decantation.

We adore the variety of a tasting menu, but usually aren’t hungry enough to make through such an extensive line up. Huva’s “tasting” menu is literally “a taste”.

“A taste of the gastro mixed with the mixology. Plated shots to include food and beverage paired together in small bites and shots. Please choose from the selection to mix and match your palate.”

When we visited, we did the following rounds of shots…

  • Oyster with sweet wasabi – Prosecco, Bel Star, Brut, DOC, Veneto, Italy NV
  • Roast shitake mushroom with truffle dressing – Proprieta Sperino Rosa Del Rosa, Rosé Italy NV
  • Camembert and onion jam – Parellada “Honeymoon” Pares Balta 2012
  • Roquefort with truffle honey – Petalo Moscato Spumante “Vino dell’Amore” NV
  • Fresh fig with pistachio – Fontana Fredda Asti Millesimato Dolce, Italy 2011
  • Baby prawns with cocktail sauce – Sauvignon, Sileni Cellar New Zealand 2013
  • Gorgonzola with olive bread – Pulenta Malbec, Chile 2009

 

Huvafenfushi - gourmet shots 2

Huvafenfushi - gourmet shots 3

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Best of the Maldives: Private Dining Table – Huvafenfushi

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Huvafenfushi - dining table

The least transparent villa table in the Maldives doesn’t make it any less aesthetically alluring. Huvafenfushi’s dining table is another striking CUBE villa feature and reminiscent of the Park Hyatt table that I previously admired (but this one is your very one in your private villa). I’m very partial to such natural grain and shape that sits so perfectly in this natural paradise.

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Best of the Maldives: Underground Wine Collection – Huvafenfushi

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Huvafenfushi - undergrond wine cellar 1

There bigger…and there’s more. And when it comes to bottles of wine underground, no one has more than resort Huvafenfushi. Their cellar holds 6000 bottles which is not just the largest not in the Maldives, but in the entire Indian Ocean as well.

6000 bottles of wine on the wall, 6000 bottles of wine. You take one down, pass it around, sign for a big charge on your room bill, 5999 bottles of wine on the wall…

Huvafenfushi - underground win cellar 2
Grand entrance to the Huva cellar

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Best of the Maldives: Night Beach Football – Huvafenfushi

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Huvafenfushi - night beach football

The moon isn’t the only enchanting orb to lighten up the night time at Huvafenfushi. The resort holds regular night beach football games including regular tournaments (we were there to watch the Ramadan World Cup semi finals – see below). Their sandy pitch includes full stadium lighting and boundary markings.

Huvafenfushi - mini World Cup

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Best of the Maldives: Photographic Gallery – Huvafenfushi

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Huvafenfushi - gallery 1

A sense-ational week this week – Smell, Taste, Touch. So how about something for the eyes. If you want something as entrancing as a cabernet’s bouquet, as exquisite as artful nectar, and as soothing as a warm bath, the Huvafenfushi’s newly launched art gallery offers an indulgence of visual delights. The exhibition features both iconic shots of the Maldives, but also a collection of dazzling destination portraits from around the world…

“Per Aquum gallery on the Maldivian island of Huaven Fushi has become the first photography gallery in the world to only be accessible by speedboat or seaplane. Each visitor to the exclusive gallery is greeted at one of the private jettys with a cocktail and are then guided through exclusive prints, only available on the island. Photographer Paul Reiffer had been shooting for the island owners when he saw an opportunity to create a unique exhibition. The 35 year-old said: ‘We’ve done it in part because it’s quirky. If you look at it from a commercial view it’s a stupid idea but we wanted to do something a bit different and it completely works.”

This post has prompted me to add a “Photography” tag for all posts literally focused on the fine art of the camera.

Huvafenfushi - galler 2

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Best of the Maldives: Ocean Pool – Huvafenfushi

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Huvafenfushi - ocean pool 1

For the real aquaphiles, here is a big serving of water in…well, water. 

The Maldives for me has always been about the water.  A country that is 99% ocean and provides a more diverse seascape than just about anywhere on the planet.  Pools provide a salt-free, sand-free place to chillax.  Many resorts now put their pools right at water’s edge and they all pools are now “infinity”.  This means you can soak up the ocean view while you soak in the pool.  But Huvafenfushi offers a pool that takes the aquatic immersion a step further.  It’s circular pool set in the lagoon at the end of a jetty offers a 360 degree ocean surround to your dip. 

An almost Magritte-esque island of water in the water (“ceci n’est pas une isle”).

Huvafenfushi - ocean pool 2

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