During his countless trips to Italy, Ernest Hemingway first met the Langa in 1948 when he arrived from America and drove from Genoa to Stresa, stopping off near Asti to taste the best vermouth in the area. Along with gin, Bacardi and champagne, vermouth remained the writer's faithful "adventure companion" who invented the famous Martini Cocktail in Italy. Hemingway returned to Piedmont in May 1954, travelling from Milan to the French Riviera, stopping off in Cuneo at the Arione cafe where he tasted the Cuneesi al Rhum, a well-known specialty by the bakery, and he bought two boxes.