By Steve Millburg, Cooking Light Magazine

On a sunny spring day, I linger over a lunch that my German ancestors would have heartily approved: spicy sausage, a couple of cheeses, some crackers, and a glass of crisp, fruity Vidal Blanc.

I step out onto the Hermannhof Winery's grapevine-shaded patio to enjoy it, joining a few others who also don't want to waste this weather sitting indoors. It's like walking into an impressionist painting-in Hermann, Missouri.

Above the quiet splashing of Frene Creek, the town fire siren wails, just once, rising smoothly and then fading to silence. "The noon bell," a local resident explains. In the small Illinois town where I grew up, we called it the noon whistle. I realize that I'm smiling.

Hermann, 90 minutes west of St. Louis on the Missouri River, will take you back, all right. Sturdy brick and wood-frame houses line the tree-shaded streets like old soldiers at attention. Gardening seems to be a competitive sport with some of the prettiest flower beds tucked away along the alleys. This time of year, the redbuds bloom first, then the dogwoods, then the lilacs. "There's a week or so when they all overlap," says Billy Grace, who works with great cheer in the tasting room at Hermannhof.

Wine's a good reason to be anywhere, especially this undiscovered nook of spring-brightened Missouri. Most people have never heard of Missouri wine in general or specific varietals such as Norton (a robust red, tricky to work with) and Vidal Blanc (a white comparable to a Pinot Grigio). "People ask, 'Why can't you grow Chardonnay here?' 'Why can't you grow Sauvignon Blanc here?' The climate doesn't support it," says Tim Puchta. Tim-bearded, gregarious, passionate-is the sixth generation of his family to make wines at the Adam Puchta Winery just outside town.

I love to introduce friends to Vidal Blanc and especially Norton. It's fun to tour the wineries-seven are within a 15-minute drive, including four in or not far from town.

With that many tasting rooms to hit, you need to pace yourself. So I innocently amble around, poking into the antiques stores and gift shops and enjoying the old German architecture. Then it happens: I stray into what Christopher Benson, proprietor of Buy The Book, calls "the dangerous part of town." Sure enough, I get ambushed-first by a cinnamon roll, then a whole bag of chocolate pecan caramel clusters. I can't resist Ricky's Chocolate Box and Battocletti's Bake Shoppe, lurking side by side on Market Street.

I really should compensate by renting a bicycle and exploring the Katy Trail. This former railroad corridor, now a skinny park that stretches nearly across the state, comes within a couple miles of Hermann, just across the river.

I opt for aerobic shopping instead. I jump in the car and hit the highway for the Central West End, my favorite St. Louis neighborhood.

The heart of the Central West End borders the northeast corner of Forest Park, the city's premier green space. Along a leafy mile stretch of Euclid Avenue, you can find great dining, a bookstore with signings almost every night (Left Bank Books), clothing boutiques, art galleries, handmade jewelry, fun antiques, and something called "Spa Chocolate." You'll also encounter tattooed hipsters, soccer moms, metrosexuals, high-powered business types, students, retirees, street performers, wide-eyed tourists, and quite a lot of dogs.

I won't say which category I fit into, but I love this place.

Gretchen Pearson makes lovely, quirky jewelry at her shop, Gretchen P. She admits to a fondness for irregular pearls-"the more irregular, the better." Having grown up in this area, she thinks she knows the appeal: "People are seeking out something that's not the mall. Every place you go here, you can talk to an owner."

Ornate gates close off many of the side streets: Hortense Place, Lenox Place, Pershing Place. Pedestrians are permitted to enter the gates and ogle the grand mansions and artful landscaping. These private streets, long favored by St. Louis' upper crust, amount to beautifully kept museums of turn-of-the-last-century architecture, though I can't help wondering how long these places take to vacuum.

As I contemplate such important complexities, the sugar sniper nabs me again and suddenly I'm wandering into Bissinger's gourmet candy shop. I notice a display of antioxidant-rich "Spa Chocolate" assortments carrying the slogan "Treat Yourself to Good Health."

Yeah, good point. I better get two. Best to make up for not biking.

Related Links:

• Southern Living Magazine: Take Me To St. Louis
• Southern Living Magazine: Food Finds St. Louis, Missouri
• Southern Living Magazine: 40 Things Every Southerner Ought to Do
• Southern Living Magazine: Reader's Choice Awards