(Nation) - Men and women harvest Merlot grapes under the scorching sun in one of Egypt’s up-and-coming vineyards, as the Muslim-majority desert country strives to win over international wine connoisseurs.

“It’s a great story, what we’ve done with Egyptian wine,” said a proud Labib Kallas, as he inspected vines planted in reclaimed desert land north of Cairo on a hot day in July.

For decades a single Egyptian company produced wine that was derided by locals and expatriates alike, but today aficionados say the North African country offers a variety of good white wines.

The vineyard that Kallas is visiting — which spans around 170 hectares (420 acres) some 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of the capital — is just one of several providing grapes to two companies now making wine in Egypt.

Since the early 2000s, Kouroum of the Nile — where Kallas heads production — and Domaine de Gianaclis have launched an ambitious quest: to revive the country’s wine production by importing grape varieties from France, Italy and also Spain — Merlot, Syrah, Viognier and Vermentino.

Cairo’s upscale restaurants and bars usually stock only Egyptian wine.

In a somewhat conservative society that mostly views alcohol negatively, authorities impose a prohibitive custom tax of 3,000 percent on imported wine.

Originally practised in Egypt under the pharaohs, large-scale winemaking was resurrected under British colonialism, before the industry started declining after the army took over the country in a 1952 coup.

Today a dozen wine varieties of reds, whites and roses are available on the market.