Toussaint is the Continent’s most beautiful duchy and, if you ask its people, its most civilised. It is a land of sunny vineyards, white castles, knights-errant and endless festivals, and it produces the finest wines in the world. Officially it is a vassal of the Nilfgaardian Empire. Unofficially, Toussaint behaves as if the rest of the world were a rumour. The capital is Beauclair, crowned by the ducal palace, and the realm is ruled by Duchess Anna Henrietta.
Toussaint in Blood and Wine
In the Blood and Wine expansion, Geralt is summoned to Toussaint to hunt the Beast of Beauclair, a monster murdering knights who turn out to have a few dark secrets of their own. The trail leads to the higher vampire Dettlaff, to Geralt’s old friend Regis, and finally to the duchess’s exiled sister Sylvia Anna, better known as Syanna. Along the way Geralt works with Damien de la Tour, captain of the Ducal Guard, and is given his own vineyard, Corvo Bianco, which may be the best retirement plan any witcher has ever had. The main story starts with The Beast of Toussaint.
Chivalry, wine and politics
Knights in Toussaint follow a strict code of virtues and love nothing more than a tournament. Wine is not just a drink but the backbone of the economy, which is why so many of Geralt’s jobs in the duchy involve vineyards, rivalries between wine houses and, occasionally, a monster in the cellar.
In the books
In the saga, Geralt and his company spend a winter in Toussaint. Dandelion falls in love with the duchess, and Geralt has an affair with the Nilfgaardian sorceress Fringilla Vigo. It is a strange, sweet pause before the final storm of the story.