Dylan Grimes juggling coronavirus challenges at Mount Macedon winery with staying fit during AFL shutdown

Richmond defender Dylan Grimes won’t have much down time during the AFL’s shutdown, busy coming to terms with the impact of coronavirus on the winery he’s owned for three years.

Grimes admits he has adopted a similar business strategy to that of the Richmond Football Club during this difficult time.

As Richmond grapples with the fallout of its season being shut down, two-time premiership player Dylan Grimes faces a coronavirus crisis on another front.

The 28-year-old defender is fighting to save his Mount Macedon Winery business, which runs as a farm, restaurant, function centre and on-site accommodation.

With tourism grinding to a halt, hospitality in free fall and life in general being squeezed, Grimes and wife Elisha are facing their biggest-ever challenge since taking over the Woodend property three and a half years ago.

“Like everyone, the first wave of shock has started to wear off a little bit, and I’m getting kind of used to being at home full-time and the routine around that,” Grimes told the Herald Sun this week.

“We’re going OK. It’s certainly a different position. Both Elisha (who manages the winery’s hospitality arm) and I aren’t working full-time.

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Two-time Richmond premiership player Dylan Grimes and dog Gus at his winery, Mount Macedon Winery. Picture: Michael Klein

“It’s an odd scenario we find ourselves in, but not an uncommon one, unfortunately. All in all, we’re going OK.

“There’s still a lot to be really grateful for and to be really happy about, so we’re focusing on those as much as we can.”

Grimes said he had taken plenty from his experiences at Richmond to apply to the winery.

“We host a lot of weddings, so around Round 1 it was pretty heartbreaking as the stages went through and working with couples around postponing their wedding due to the virus,” he said.

“Initially the focus was cutting guest numbers down to get under the 100 person limit, then it was the 4m rule (to be set around patrons).

“It’s sort of been a bit of a rollercoaster. When the final call was made, there’s been a hell of a lot of work we’ve had to do in the background. We have staff that we need to support through this time as well.

“It’s been a challenging time for small business, broadly speaking, and the people that have lost jobs and rely on that income and need that income to keep the lights on and keep food on the table, it’s certainly been a really challenging time for a lot of people.”

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The winery forklift also serves as a bench press and squat rack as Grimes trains in isolation. Picture: Michael Klein

It’s the “unknown nature” of COVID-19 and its potential effects that strikes Grimes.

“There were some super challenging times, and easily this has been our biggest since we took over the farm and opened up Mount Macedon Winery,” he said.

“Just the unknown nature of the whole thing.

“We played footy through both world wars, the plague, and in terms of putting a pause on the season, I don’t think anyone could have predicted that was going to have an impact on our life up here on the farm as well.

“Here we are and we’re trying to make the most of it.”

Grimes uses the barbell to do pull-ups as he works to maintain his strength during the enforced lay-off.

Aside from the hospitality arm, the have the all-important grape harvest in a fortnight, which will be critical.

The vineyard staff are the only ones that remain on the books.

“We’re working hard at the vineyard and firmly focused on harvest in a couple of weeks’ time,” the defender said.

“Everything else just seems to have gone into chaos a little bit, but the farm has been grounding in some ways, because really the actual aspects of growing food and growing wine really hasn’t been disrupted too much.”

Tom Lynch and Grimes after the 2019 AFL Grand Final victory. Picture: Mark Stewart

Other aspects of farm life have provided much-needed respite.

They have a pregnant cow to check on, and Grimes and his wife take evening hikes with dog Gus in tow.

There’s also a unique home gym where he and Elisha train every day, using the forklift as a bench press, chin-up bar and a squat rack.

But in the face of the challenges as a boss and a business owner, Grimes says he has continually sought inspiration from Punt Road.

Grimes admits he has adopted a similar business strategy to that of the Richmond Football Club during this difficult time.

“Working with staff and having to work through some really challenging issues over the last month … we learned so much in a business sense from how well Richmond handled this whole situation,” he said.

“Up at the farm, I’m mirroring a lot of stuff that Richmond were doing and I’ve got to say, in times of crisis, I think that’s when it tests our your organisation’s leadership so much. I really feel like they came out absolutely shining.”

HOW CAN PEOPLE SUPPORT THE WINERY?

The doors might be closed on the hospitality front for now, but if you follow @mountmacedonwinery on Instagram, you’ll be the first to know when the restaurant, cellar door and guest accommodation are back up and running.

Originally published as Dylan Grimes juggling coronavirus challenges at Mount Macedon winery with staying fit during AFL shutdown