Oddbins is back on the high street

The quirky off-licence chain that made Britain fall in love with Australian chardonnay in the Eighties is back.

Six months after it collapsed with debts of £20million, Oddbins returns this week as a champion of the "Old World" wines it helped to eclipse as the brand is re-launched by its new owner, wine distributors EFB Group, at 19 sites across London.

Head of buying Emma Nichols said it was time for British drinkers to discover the less well-known regions of Europe, just as they embraced the countries of the southern hemisphere in the "Jacob's Creek revolution" a generation ago.

She said: "There is an awful lot of really exciting Old World wine now and some very exciting regions we have discovered, especially in Spain, where the progress in 20 years has been enormous."

Almost two thirds of the new Oddbins wines will be from Europe. There will be none of the heavily discounted supermarket brands that helped drive chains such as Threshers, Unwins - and Oddbins itself - to the wall.

The re-launched London branches include Balham, Chiswick, Kennington and Stoke Newington. Innovations will include "pricing democracy" under which staff will be guided by how much customers say they will be prepared to pay in blind tastings.

Oddbins' new managing director Ayo Akintola said: "The Old World is beginning to change and do things differently. There's still a level of discovery to be done."