Welp, learned the hard way.
I intentionally bottled some cider with more than enough fermentables because I wanted to try my hand at backsweetening and pasteurization. Of these, 8 were 12oz bottles (capped), 4 were 25oz bottles (capped), and 4 were wine bottles (corked).
I had two pots: one for the 12oz bottles and one for the bombers and wine bottles. I put the bottles in their respective pots, then filled the pots with water until it hit the fill line on the shortest bottle. I removed the bottles and heated up the water on my electric stovetop.
The one with the 12oz bottles heated up pretty quickly because it was so much smaller. I took it to 180F, turned off the heat and removed it from the burner, then placed the bottles in the water, setting the timer for 10 minutes. About 6 minutes in, the water temp was at 130F, so of course that did me no good. Put it back on, raised it to 180F again, and put the bottles back. Because they had already warmed up quite a bit from the last round, they were still around 150F after another 10 minutes. So they should be good.
The big pot was the problem. I haven't had trouble with wine bottles, corks, and carbonation before, so I didn't think much of it. In an attempt to avoid having to reheat the pot (which took about an hour), I decided to take it up to 190F. I placed the bottles in there and set my timer. About 4 minutes in, I heard my first cork pop. Then another. Then the other two. Then I heard one of the bombers (capped) shatter
I just rolled with it. After 10 minutes, the water bath temp was still at 150F, so I figured the yeasties are dead. I capped 3 of wine bottles (they're the kind that will take caps or corks) and re-corked the fourth.
So what have we learned?
1.) For me, at least, 190F is too high a starting point (though I'm sure it depends on the amount of water and amount of bottles).
2.) If I'm gonna pasteurized corked bottles, use a cage!