Logic would tell you that Tangled Hickory Wine Bar and Bistro shouldn't be in Viroqua, Wis. (population 4,400). The small town rests on a hilltop in the Driftless Region of southwest Wisconsin, about 3½ hours by car from Minneapolis. But there it was, in the heart of downtown, offering bistro-style dishes, craft beers and cocktails. We settled in on the non-music side of the bistro for a quiet drink, but the snippets of music from the other side of the wall soon had us wandering over to see what was going on.
That's when we discovered the second of what would be many surprising discoveries in Viroqua. The musician was a classical guitarist, next to him sat a flutist and joining them, in a jam session that had the appearance of going through the night, was a changing group of guitarists, drummers and singers. The music was unique — I picked up on just one cover song during the evening — and would have provided pleasant background ambience in another setting. The Tangled Hickory, however, has a loyal following of music fans who applauded such musical nuances as a successful transition through difficult key changes.
We were in town for the July 4th weekend, which featured the Driftless Music Festival, the Viroqua Triathlon and the weekly farmers market, whose more than 50 vendors include Amish farmers and craft soda brewers.
The seeds for Viroqua's unique culture may have been planted in 1988 when a small group of like-minded farmers created Organic Valley, a farmer-owned cooperative based in nearby La Farge. Now a leader in the national organic foods movement, the company had more than $850 million in sales in 2012 and has infused the region with a culture of appreciation for organic food, small family farms and unique foods.
The Basics
Viroqua is about 40 miles east of La Crosse, Wis., on Hwy. 14, in bucolic Vernon County.
What to do
Hit the farmers market: The Saturday morning farmers market features 50 local farmers and vendors. Try a craft-brewed ginger soda, fresh-baked pizza featuring produce and herbs grown on the farm and cooked in a portable wood-fired pizza oven, Amish jams and handmade baskets, fresh organic produce, local cheeses and maple syrup. It runs through October on Main St. (1-608-637-2575; www.viroqua-wisconsin.com/quality/downtown).
Go fly fishing: Vernon County has more than 200 miles of high-quality trout streams. The two most celebrated ones, the West Fork of the Kickapoo and the Timber Coulee, are less than 10 miles from Viroqua.
Paddle: The nearby shallow, wandering Kickapoo River has drawn canoeists for decades.
