The reality is that grapes are the most appropriate because of their drought tolerance,'' he said. Fitzpatrick bottled his first wine in 1981. With a rich history in mining and milling, an elevation that spans from 2,000 to 4,000 feet, acres of rich granite soil, three forks of the Cosumnes River the South County seems to have it all. The South County is rural and will stay rural. The water source is well water,'' said Ed Keller, owner of Somerset Properties.
South County includes several small towns that thrived when mining and lumbering took center stage.
Grizzly Flat, with its rich quartz veins and creek placers, saw numerous mines develop. In the 1920s, Outingdale became El Dorado County's first subdivision. Omo Ranch was a bustling logging community in 1939 with 225 employees working in the lumber mill of Cecil Wetsel and Glen Oviatt.