Grape Picking Knife
notes: label: Description
content: This razor knife was used during the 2011 harvest of Norton grapes at Chrysalis Vineyards in Middleburg, Virginia. The orange plastic head holds opposing razor edges, which can quickly sever even tough stems. The black handle can be bent to an angle preferred by a particular picker.
label: Description
content: The Norton, a hybrid developed from native American grapes, thrived in Virginia in the 19th century, despite the region’s challenging, humid climate. The old vineyards were obliterated during Prohibition in the 1920s, but the varietal was still thriving in Missouri when Virginia vintner Dennis Horton brought back cuttings to plant in his vineyard near Gordonsville. His first vintage of Norton in 1992 inspired other Virginians to plant the hardy grape, including McCloud, who, by 2011, had 40 acres of Norton vines to tend.
label: Description
content: McCloud trellises her Nortons so that the fruit lies on top of the leaves, rathering than hanging low where the grapes would be subject to mildew and rot during the humid growing season. Nestled above the leaves, the clusters not only receive the sunlight, but also the benefit of occasional breezes that waft through the Piedmont terrain. At harvest time, which is typically in October and November, workers strap on picking baskets, with the bucket at chest height. As they walk through the vineyard rows, they use razor knives to cut the clusters into the bucket, without having to bend or stoop down. Once the bucket is filed, the picker walks to a waiting tub or gondola, unties the drawstring, and lets the grapes fall into the container. During the 2011 harvest, pickers Efrain Rivera, Luis Fernando Nolazco Hedes, Fernando Nolazco Ortega, and Fredy Villalobos were among the workers picking grapes in this manner at Chrysalis.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
topic: label: Subject
content: Wine
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Food Technology
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content: Food
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content: FOOD: Transforming the American Table 1950-2000
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Chrysalis Vineyards
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2012.0011.02
label: catalog number
content: 2012.0011.02
label: accession number
content: 2012.0011
objectType: label: Object Name
content: knife
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: rubber (handle material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 8 in x 1 1/4 in x 1 in; 20.32 cm x 3.175 cm x 2.54 cm