(Wines&Vines) - The town of Sutter Creek in Amador County, Calif., recently saw the opening of its 10th winery tasting room and has become a wine destination showcasing many Sierra Foothills wines and their producers all within easy walking distance. The tasting rooms—along with recent additions and upgrades in lodging and dining establishments, more entertainment venues and a new mix of retail shops and art galleries—have created new energy and business in the town. Wine on 49, a promotional organization named after State Highway 49 that runs through the town, represents most of the town’s tasting rooms and is planning events to benefit its members and the community.

Sutter Creek hasn’t reached the same level of tasting room activity as Murphys—another Sierra Foothills town 40 miles south in Calaveras County, which currently boasts 16 tasting rooms. But these towns and tasting rooms have realized similar benefits. For small, local wineries that depend on direct-to-consumer sales, exposure to regular tourist traffic is good for business. For wine tourists, these tasting room clusters provide an alternative Sierra Foothills wine experience that is easier to access than navigating miles of winding rural roads to visit individual wineries. Local customers and wine club members also regularly purchase wines at these locations that tend to have longer hours than tasting rooms located on winery properties.