liquor, and the trading of that liquor into the city of Potosí. History Based on genetic studies, two seminal varieties of grape were introduced to the Americas as early as 1520 by Spanish immigrants arriving via the Canary Islands where these varieties were well established, muscat of alexandria and mission (grape). After the former arrived in the Viceroyalty of New Castille (today's Peru and Bolivia), it gave rise to modern varieties such as criolla (grape) and torrontés which are used today in distilled liquors and wine. Spanish explorers under Francisco Pizzaro reached the Inca empire in 1528. They and accompanying religious orders entered the land far south of Cuzco almost immediately thereafter. By 1538 while Lower Peru was still unsettled due to war, official Spanish cities such as the future archdiocese at Sucre were initiated in Upper Peru or what is today Bolivia. In 1545 a massive silver strike was discovered nearby at the Cerro Rico, Potosi. Because of the importance of this site—nearly all of the silver on the Spanish Main originated from there—special attention from the Spanish Crown and allied missions resulted in the establishment of a greater number of religious settlements in the general area. Within this timeframe the growing mining town of Potosi became the Imperial City of Potosi, at that time one of the largest and richest cities in the world, and by far the largest city in the Americas. These factors —an unprecedented large city and a profusion of wine-making missions nearby—set the stage for the emergence of singani. Grapevines were introduced into the mountain valleys of Bolivia by Spanish missionaries arriving as early as 1530, and the production of wine in Bolivia is first known from these places. The need for wine was driven by the requirements of the Eucharist liturgy, and wherever there was a mission there would likely be some attempt at winemaking. The date range for the initiation of wine production in Bolivia is from about the 1530s to the 1550s (grapevines take a number of years to mature) which corresponds approximately to the initiation of winemaking in neighboring Peru and Chile. It is generally believed that singani as a name for the distilled spirit arose in that timeframe during the latter half of the 16th Century. Most distilled liquor in the Spanish colonies was called aguardiente, many present-day liquor names in the Americas being adopted only by the 17th