Things to Do in Beaverton

Erin Marie Palmer and her oenology savants demystify supping tactics during 90-minute libation classes alongside a select spread of wines from the Pacific Northwest, California, and around the world. Students can choose from three globetrotting tastings, including Understanding Pinot Noir, Date Night: An Adventure in Wine for Couples, and 7 Things Everyone Should Know About Wine, a crash course in essential varietal facts, originally programmed for young professionals and fledgling stemware. Each session uncorks five or more wine flights while dispensing valuable information about etiquette, history, and pronunciation, all of which are useful for peppering conversations during forthcoming dates and parent-teacher conferences. Although food is not included, pupils can glean knowledge about culinary pairings.

Pottery painting in the coolest space! Your hosts, Joni and George Kuhlman, will be on hand for tips and guidance to make a piece that will be enjoyed for years. Make something for yourself, or a gift.

Established in 1969, Floral Design Institute now prepares more than 1,000 students per year to achieve their career-minded floral goals or broaden their knowledge of their hobby. School director Leanne Kesler and her staff of florists oversee the diverse curriculum, which ranges from such business-oriented topics as floral-shop marketing and finance to floral design lessons for anybody. Though most lessons take place on-location, distance-learning classes allow students to participate even while bound inside venus fly traps.

Stocked with fresh-baked bread, artisan cheeses, and wines from around the world, Blackbird Wine Shop initiates patrons to haute fare with customized tastings, wine-and-cheese pairing lessons, and cellars of bottles available for purchase. To preview the nose, bouquet, and sense of humor of wines, patrons can sample five self-selected vintages during evening tastings before committing to taking one home. For a more in-depth experience, groups of up to 10 can learn the most pleasing pairings of cheeses with eight regional wines, complementing each vintage’s flavor with three cheeses, olives, bread, almonds, and fruit.

At Greenlight Bikes LLC, Kalkhoff electric bikes propel cyclists at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour. The German-born bikes sprang from the imagination of Heinrich Kalkhoff in 1914, who hatched the idea when he delivered mail riding a cycle instead of a carrier pigeon. During the ensuing 30 years, Heinrich and an ever-growing staff honed his initial design and ultimately ventured into electric bikes. The company unveiled the motor-powered fleet to Europe in 2005. Stateside, Greenlight Bikes both rents and sells them, in addition to traditional cycles.

The eBikes are available in designs that range from comfy cruiser to high-performance two-wheeler, and they bolster riders' pedaling at three different levels. A sensor in the bike's bottom bracket gauges manpower and, with the help of a brushless motor, boosts it for up to 50 miles—the typical amount of time it takes to escape an angry corgi. Riders can also switch off electric assistance and complete excursions using their own cardiovascular electricity.