(AFP) - The bottles boasting Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache could be from any Parisian supermarket but a closer look reveals this is wine with a difference -- nurtured in the unforgiving soil of Africa's Sahel.

"Le Clos des Baobabs" -- "the Baobab Field" in English -- is Senegal's first vineyard, situated an hour's scenic drive from the capital Dakar on the picturesque Petite Cote.

Extending over just one hectare (2.5 acres) dotted with baobab trees which watch over the young grape as it gorges on nourishing, year-round sunshine, the plot is the realisation of a cherished dream shared by two French businessmen who are lovers of all things Senegal.

"The main challenge here is that there are no significant seasonal changes," said Philippe Franchois, an insurance broker in his 60s who teamed up with Francois Normant, a former computer engineer.

Since acquiring 10 hectares of land three years ago in the rural idyll of Nguekhokh, they have spent much of their brainpower and business acumen accommodating the unfavourable conditions.

"In France, you harvest on near enough a fixed date. The vine in Senegal degrades quickly but the advantage of the climate is that we can make two harvests a year," says Franchois.

Senegal is a flat, arid country, but the rainy season brings a mixture of hot sunshine and biblical downpours and the air near the coast can be relatively humid.

The two entrepreneurs use a complex irrigation system, featuring a 180-metre (600-feet) well, which looks impressive -- and expensive -- although the businessmen prefer not to discuss how much cash they have sunk into the venture.

Of the 10 hectares, only one is operational so far, a testing ground to gauge the reaction of vines imported from France to the unpredictable, capricious Senegalese soil.

- 20m bottles sold annually -

Normant and Franchois have started out with five varieties -- Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah and Sangiovese.